Up to Zero
by Paper Pieces
Summary: The hardest thing he'll ever have to do is return to the ones he deserted... (CHAPTER ELEVEN UP!)
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Title: Up to Zero  
  
Author: Paper Pieces  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Pairing: Ultimately none, but J/E sometimes finds it's way in there when I'm not looking.  
  
Summary: The hardest thing he'll ever have to do is return to the ones he deserted.  
  
A/N- This story is very different from anything I've ever written. As such, I don't expect to be any good at it. I welcome all comments/criticism as long as it is polite. I don't have a beta reader either, so anyone interested can email me at ladywhitedragoness@yahoo.com . Thanks!  
  
Chapter 1: The Beginning  
  
The cold night air stung her lung. Her heart thumped in time with the beat of her shoes hitting the pavement. Fear made her skin tingle and her heart leap into her throat. Getting away was the only option. Capture would be more painful than she wanted to think about.even fatal.  
  
Screeching tires.. the sound of guns going off.  
  
They were close. She didn't dare to look back. They had a vehicle.under normal circumstances she could out run it, no question, but not now.  
  
'God,' She prayed desperately. 'I'm not ready to die'  
  
They flew out of anywhere and everywhere, four of them dressed in black, impossible to see except for the bright streetlights. They swarmed on her like bees to honey, roughly subduing her, grabbing her hands and legs and swiftly knocking her to the ground. Fatigue set in, numbing her attempts to free herself. Suddenly, as her tears began to flow, she knew it was over.  
  
A flash of light sent a sharp pain to through her skull from her eyes. A scream of pain hit her ears. She thought it was her own, but her own mouth was being shoved into the paved road. Her right hand was free. Something fell from the black winter sky and landed a few feet away. The sound of impacts on flesh rained in the air.  
  
Within seconds, she was free. A gentle hand touched her arm and rolled her over. The stunning women's face contorted in concern.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Come on, Emma. We have to get her out of here." Another thick male voice called out. Arms slipped under her legs and behind her shoulder blades, pulling her against someone's strong chest.  
  
"This is Brennan." the woman, Emma, said to her calmly. "He'll take care of you. Don't be scared." She looked away. "Shal, let's get out of here!"  
  
It started as a twitch in the back of her neck. That twitch grew so abruptly and so enormously that now she knew the scream was hers. Searing pain flooded every point of her body, such pain she had never felt before, such pain that she wanted to die right there.  
  
The others began shouting over her screams. She didn't feel the man put her down on the pavement. She didn't see Emma almost faint from feeling her pain. She didn't hear the other's panicked shouting.  
  
Suddenly, she had slipped into a peaceful blackness.  
  
* Break *  
  
The warehouse loft was dark. The only light shown in from the moon outside the far window. It reflected off the brass bed frame and stained the concrete floor just beyond the tattered rug. The rest of the time- blemished wood walls absorbed the darkness.  
  
The large metal door opened and shut. Laughter rang out in the cool empty silence. Two dark figures danced through the open door frame, embracing each other and then pulling apart.  
  
One of them sighed. "The powers out again."  
  
The other laughed and wrapped his arms around the other. "Candles or.no?"  
  
The female giggled in a deep playful tone. "Candles"  
  
The man tore away from her to the table on the opposite side of the room. She went quickly to the bed, shedding her overcoat and tossing it on the hard floor. She lay back on the white sheets and dangled her feet on the edge.  
  
Striking a match, he quickly lit two thick candles, one blue and one purple. His hand shook the fire out and tossed the burnt piece of wood into a small dish that served as the matches' graveyard. Carefully picking up the blue, he walked over to the bed, and placed it on the small bedside table. He used the same candle to light three more, two small red and a pink. The dark wax dripped from the already melted pool and cooled on the freshly lit candle. He watched silently as the fire liquefied the spot and mixed the deep blue in with the pure pink.  
  
"You were great tonight." The women said sliding herself to the far side of the bed. Her deep hazel eyes sparkled in the firelight as she made the comment. A sly half grin crossed her lips.  
  
He smiled back at her as he took of his long brown leather jacket. "Oh yeah? When?"  
  
She crawled up to the pillows and rested right her arm across it, propping up her head with her other hand. "It's hard to chose a favorite."  
  
He turned and sat, only to stretch himself out beside her. Her body moved closer to his as she rested her right arm across his chest. "You weren't so bad yourself."  
  
"Thanks." She leaned in for a long kiss. He obliged, taking the opportunity to explore her familiar mouth once more. She brushed the single loose strand of shoulder length wavy hair behind. "Don't get too excited, big boy," Her soft sultry tone gave him chills. "I have to change first." He smiled at her again as she rolled over and left the thin mattress. She sauntered over to the other side of the room. "So, how many do you think we took out?"  
  
"Nine or ten" He replied, placing his hands in a relaxing position behind his head. She stood away from him as she lifted her shirt over her head with two hands, glancing back to see if he was watching, and smiling because he was.  
  
"I was thinking twelve." She answered hanging the tight black t-shirt on the chair beside the bureau. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Ten, twelve, forty-two, a hundred." He sighed as she reached over to pull open a drawer. "What's the difference?"  
  
She shrugged. Her hands grabbed a dark gray, baggy T-shirt and quickly slipped it over her head. With a flick of her wrist, she removed the long butterfly clip from behind her head. The mass of wavy shoulder length hair fell into its place as she crossed the room again.  
  
"Now why did you put that on? It's only gonna come off in a minute."  
  
She lifted her one leg over him to straddle his waist. Pulling his arms out from behind his head, she gently leaned on them to pin him to the bed. A sly sexy grin crossed her face as she touched her nose to his. "I like that shirt to much to have you rip it off me, Mickey. Now kiss me."  
  
* Break *  
  
"The good news" Adam began as he turned from the active computer screen. His fingers massaged his temples, a telltale sign of frustration and exhaustion. "Is that she's not dead."  
  
Emma sighed with relief and looked to the ceiling. "Thank God."  
  
Shalimar put a comforting arm around her friend as Brennan leaned over the circular, wood and metal desk. "And the bad?"  
  
"She's in a coma. There's no way to get any information on the bounty hunters until she wakes up, which gets more and more unlikely every day."  
  
"What about the subdermal governor?" The feral asked, meeting the genius' eyes.  
  
"It could be from any outsourcing project Eckhart ever put into motion. Genomex wasn't exactly quiet about their standard equipment with anyone they worked with." Adam sighed picking the extracted plastic knob off his desk. "However, it does have one distinct difference. The power regulator was completely removed. Who knows what kind of voltage what going through that girl's body last night."  
  
"Was it enough to kill her?" The elemental piped up.  
  
The older man paused. "Possibly" Adam replied quietly and simply. The silence radiated the feelings in the room, but the astonishment and frustration were severely out matched by the anger.  
  
"What information do we have on their headquarters?" Shalimar asked forceful, trying to change the tone from sorrowful to determined. "Didn't you say the Internet search turned up something?"  
  
"I checked it out yesterday." Brennan interrupted. He stood back up with his muscular arms across his chest in his power position. "The place was cleaner a hospital wing."  
  
"What about something underground? Maybe a hidden room or entrance?" Emma turned to the self-appointed second-in-command.  
  
He shook his head. "The padlock on the door had been rusted shut. Nobody's been getting in or out of that place in years."  
  
Shalimar turned to her mentor. "What now? Don't we have anymore leads?"  
  
Adam turned to the large screen to his right. "Map on." A large green and black diagram of the city appeared. The team shifted to see as the focus zoomed in on a familiar section of road and forest. "The attack last night was here. From the direction she was running and the location of the phone booth where she made the call, we can try to trace her course backwards."  
  
"Telling us where she came from." Emma deduced.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"And.?"  
  
"There's an abandoned prison 5 miles south of the main road." The focus moved with the sound of Adam's voice. A large mass of squares and rectangles materialize in the center of the screen.  
  
"Perfect for hold subdued New Mutants." Brennan commented coming out from behind the desk to get a better look. "Who owns it?"  
  
"The government, currently, but its too old to use and not up to codes. The city doesn't want to spend any money on it, but they're apparently keeping it around in case they need it."  
  
"Which means someone's getting paid."  
  
"How convenient." The feral snarled. "How do we get in?"  
  
"I'm still trying to find any trace of the group off the Genomex databases." Adam answered turning back to the three. "Hopefully then I can get into their system."  
  
"How long till you do?"  
  
"Since I haven't found anything thus far, I'd guess a few weeks." The leader sighed.  
  
"We can't wait weeks. More could die."  
  
Adam sighed, averting his eyes from his blonde underling. Keeping his glare on the floor. He pondered the best way to go about what he needed to do.  
  
"Adam." Emma's voice broke his concentration. She's read him. He'd expected as much. The tone was a warning. But as he looked at her to read her face, he saw her eyes weren't angry. They yielded to what had to be done and that emotionally it wouldn't be easy. Ultimately, though, they were supportive.  
  
"I can't do this by myself. I need help if we're going to get anywhere." He met Shalimar's stare. "I need someone with the mind of a hacker and the skills too."  
  
Her eyes widened, mouth forming a thin furious line. "No, Adam."  
  
"It's our only choice, Shalimar."  
  
"No!" She repeated, voice raising along side her mounting anger. "Hell no!"  
  
"More will die, Shalimar." His voice strained to keep his temper, but the daunting task ahead would take time, which was growing short with each passing minute.  
  
"Then we go in now! Storm the place without the security information!" Her hands swung frantically as she approached him.  
  
"I am not letting any of you get killed because of your resentments, Shalimar!"  
  
"Then I'll go." Her golden feral eyes flashed showing the peak of her rage. "Alone."  
  
The silence resumed. Adam glanced at the other two team members standing back from the confrontational woman, both awaiting the outcome of the argument.  
  
Emma's face was focused on the floor, slightly uncomfortable. She knew the women reaction, but didn't understand it. Brennan's look appeared only minutely angry. He had made peace with the event long ago and was determined to move on. Adam knew that bringing him back, however, would uncover wounds.  
  
"Shalimar," Adam looked at her squarely. "These are some of the most effective bounty hunters I have ever come across. This headquarters is almost as impossible to penetrate as their organization. The prison is made of steel and concrete feet thick. There are no windows or any points of entry that aren't next to impossible to break into.and that's without the security. To get in, we'd have to walk through walls."  
  
"So what you're saying is," Her voice dripped with bitterness. "Either way, we're hunting him down."  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
"And if I don't?"  
  
"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, but if you chose your pride before all those lives, then you're not the Shalimar I know."  
  
Her stare intensified in the brief tense moment, willing him to back down. But he was the pack leader, she knew, and it was not her place to question.  
  
"What do we do first?" 


	2. Chapter 2: Kerry and the Cyber Cafe

A/N- It's not especially good, but it works. I'm still looking for a beta!

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The steel door slammed. The aggressive taps of high heel boots thundered on the dark linoleum. The light of the sun from outside cast the shadow of a small woman across the floor and onto the deep red walls.  

"We're closed." Kerry's voice called out before she could see the woman. Furiously, she dried the inside of a small glass. One could only clean so many glasses, restock so many bottles, and set up a stage for so many hours before losing any hope for a cheerful attitude. And now a clearly aggravated woman was obviously looking to pick a fight. The day had been bad enough, without having to deal with a head case with a broken heart. 

"Not for me." The blonde appeared at the far end of the empty dance floor. Kerry put the freshly cleaned glass on the bar. The woman gave her a once over before continuing. "Are you Kerry Parcell?" 

"Maybe." She leaned over the countertop, trying hard to convey her lack of patience. "Who are you?" 

The stranger rolled her eyes and walked aggressively across the room and up the small set of stairs that separated them. "Cut the crap. I've seen a million like you, and am going to see a million more, so just answer my questions." 

"A million, huh. A million of what?" 

"Self-proclaimed bad girls, with more attitude than sense."

"Bit of an unfair judgment for someone you just met. What do you want?"

"You know anything about a ring of bounty hunters, using these." The woman's open palm revealed a small round black cylinder. 

Kerry looked at the disk quickly, keeping her expression still. Instinctively, she straightened up, sizing up the stranger. She was short, nowhere near the bar owner's 5'10. Her small physique was less than intimidating. What worried her was the unusual amount of confidence this one, small, pissed off woman had. Either she was extremely stupid, or extremely likely to be underestimated. 

"You're wasting your time."

"Really." The blonde smirked. 

"I can't help you." 

"Can't or won't?"

"Both, either, whatever." Each word punctured the air like bullets, meaning to discourage more questions. Instead, the stranger kept on. 

"So you do know something?"

"Maybe I did, but whatever I know now won't help you." Kerry turned away and began to walk towards the end of the closed off area. Letting herself out through a swinging thin wood barrier, she could feel the woman's eyes on her back. A quick twist of the head assured her that she was. Tall brunette rolled her eyes as the stranger tossed her small possession impatiently into the air and caught it. "And I'll thank you not to bring that trash into my bar again." 

"I don't have time for these games. If you know something, I want the information, now."

"What you want is something I can't give you." Kerry pulled the wooden stool off the black lined bar, her back to the blonde.  

"What if I make you?"

 The aggressive tone played on her nerves. Her hands slipped off next stool. She turned, now thoroughly annoyed. How could this meager woman come into her bar and have the nerve to threaten her about something she didn't even allow herself to think about? 

She covered the four steps that separated them, placing herself right in the blonde's face. "Get out," she snapped pointing towards the door.

"Not until you tell me who the hell these bastards are." Her head followed as Kerry made her way behind the bar again. Reaching below the counter, she pulled out a small silver cell phone. 

"How about if I call the cops?" 

The blonde bent over the bar and reached for the empty glass. With a quick squeeze and a flash of golden cat eyes, the glass shattered in her hand and shards of glass rained from her fist.

Kerry looked unimpressed. "If I had a nickel for every time one of you ferals walked into this bar and broke a perfectly good shot glass…well, I sure as hell wouldn't be here." 

"Not every feral has the severe lack of patience I have, so you either tell me what you know, or that glass is you." The blonde spat venomously. 

"Nothing I say can help you." 

"That's not what Adam says." 

The brunette bartender's mouth tightened. "You tell Adam to go screw himself. I'm done with that know-it-all SOB." 

She turned to leave, but the feral grabbed her arm. "You better hope you're telling me the truth." 

Kerry shot the blonde a malicious look. "You better hope I don't lose my cool or your hand's up in smoke." The feral loosened her grip and the bartender pulled away easily, disappearing into the back room. 

Shalimar walked out of the dark bar into the sunshine of the city street. Approaching the car, the tinted window rolled down. 

"What'd you find out?" Brennan asked pulling his sunglasses down over his eyes.

"Either she's lying to me, or Adam's off his game." Her thin fingers opened the car door with a pop and she slipped inside. "But I have a feeling we'll be seeing her again." 

* - Break - *

His chin rested in the palm of his hand as he stared at the bright computer screen. Reading the thin white on black text, his fingers drummed to the beat of the low-key rock music against the spherical mouse. 

Carefully, he clicked through the junk mail displayed on the screen, being sure to transfer supply receipts to other folders. Reading through the customer messages, he made a mental note to fix the hours on Up to Zero's website. 

He sighed as he pressed the print button on a cyber invoice. He was finally done with his webmaster duties. It never took him long anyway, computers being both his skill and muse, but it was always much more fun to do things for personal use. Quickly, he switched over to his email and waited to receive his messages.  

"Can I get you anything?" His eyes shifted up to the slender face of the waitress and slide down to his half full coffee cup. She was pretty, maybe 17 years old. Her bleach blonde hair was up in a high ponytail. 

"No thanks." He flashed a flirtatious smile at her. "I'm good." 

With a reciprocal coy smile, she turned to leave. He watched as the late teen giggled to herself as she returned to the main counter. 

Nothing like cute waitresses to make a guy frequent a cyber café. Not that that was his reason, he did have a steady girlfriend, but it certainly was a plus. 

A clip of computer music caught his ear, signaling active on his computer. He quickly scanned the screen. 

His finger froze. 

He had mail. It was forwarded from his old account; the subject line read "From an old friend…"

His first instinct was to erase it. He had no old friends, none that he wanted mail from. His finger itched for the delete button. 

But something in him hesitated, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Deep in his stomach, a twinge of repressed guilt fluttered. 

To: Mickrawlings

From: Jkilmartin

911

    -AK

His heart fell to his stomach. His head began to ache. 

No, this was not happening. He couldn't go back. 

He'd lost so much about who he was during that time in his life. Layers of what he thought he knew had been torn off him like a band-aid from a wound, a wound that had taken a long time to heal. 

They had to hate him for it too, for screwing it up, for throwing things off balance, for not being able to pretend anymore. 

Going back would be like walking into a granite wall, impossible, against the laws of nature. 

A small ember of hate re-ignited. What was he expecting? A miracle?

Shaking his head with a stern expression, his finger clicked, deleting the email. 

*- Break -*

Adam looked up from the computer as the telempath walked angrily across the large open room. "Anything?" 

She held the sides of her face with her hands with an expression of both pain and frustration. "Nothing. I've been trying for hours and now I have the biggest headache."

"Go lie down." He replied looking back down at the screen as the files rolled down. "After three hours, I think you've earned a rest." 

"I can't." She continued with a hint of absolute determination in her voice as she boosted herself up on the desk. "I have to find him." 

Adam crossed his arms, expressing his displeasure in her statement. "I'm sure you will, Emma, but right now, think about your well-being. There is such a thing as pushing yourself too hard, too quickly. " 

She fell silent, rubbing her temples, eyes aimed down at the floor in thought. Adam watched her where she sat, trying to use his scientific brain to decode the emotions present on her face. Slowly, he strode over leaning against the counter where she was sitting. 

"Is something the matter, or are you just admiring the carpet?"

Her arms dropped beside her with a thud, as she shot him a frustrated look, eyes wide with hopelessness and anger. "It's just…I can't pick him up anywhere. I used to be able to find him in seconds. There were times when I didn't even have to try. I just knew where he was."

"And you're wondering what's so different now." 

"I just feels odd that I have no idea where he is." 

The man smiled and reached over to pat her hand. "He may not be the person you knew anymore. People change and evolve. Frankly, if you could pick him up on the first try, I'd be a little worried." 

For a moment, he thought she might say more. Her mouth opened slightly, breath caught in her throat. Her eyes even made contact with his, for one brief moment. Instead the breath was release and her chest heaved over a heavy sigh.

"I think I'll go take some aspirin and try again." She gracefully slid off the desk, one hand still holding her head. 

As she exited, he couldn't help but notice the familiar pinch of worry in his stomach, both for the woman and the mission. Part of him did feel perplexed that she couldn't pick up her former friend, especially in their time of need. Finding him would mean the difference between a few casualties and a mass enslavement. 

But finding him, he knew, wasn't going to be even half the battle.

"Adam?" A disembodied voice asked. 

"Shalimar?" He answered tilting his head up to project his voice. 

"We're on our way back from Kerry's." 

"How'd it go?" 

"Well, after we got done threatening and insulting each other, she kicked me out." 

Adam smiled and chuckled. "Good old Kerry. I take it she didn't tell you anything." 

"Nothing specific, but it was pretty clear that she knew something though. " 

"Alright, when Emma's rested, the two of you can go back and try to pick up any clues telempathically. Until then, I need you and Brennan here." 

"We're on it." 


	3. Chapter 3: Stress and Up to Zero

A/N- Ack! I've been wrestling with this chapter for weeks and its still not as good as I wanted it! *sigh * Anyway, same old, same old. Please review! I still need a beta! Please?

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"Damnit!" Kerry screamed and slammed the off-white plastic phone down on the hook. She cupped her face in her hands and let out a sigh of immense frustration. 

Four bartenders had called in sick. Being understaffed was a curse she didn't want to deal with, especially today of all days. This morning, she had woken up a splitting migraine three aspirin had only managed to dull. Her black occasionally defective Lexis had been ticketed outside her loft, before she even reached lunch. The band she spent an hour booking broke up over creative differences two days earlier, neglecting to tell her, leaving her high and dry without entertainment for the night. The backroom freezer broke the night before and she had little pools of water all over the floor, one of which she slipped in, breaking a box of expensive liquor bottles, and nearly spraining her ankle. 

The blonde from earlier didn't make it any better. She was dangerous, and determined. People like that didn't give up when they needed information. In her gut, she felt that this would not go away, and that was an unnerving thought.  

A warm hand touched her back. 

Without hesitation, her body spun, right fist enclosed in her left, elbow jetted out, ready for contact. The split second after she knew she hadn't connected, her right fist exploded from her side. Wrapped around the fingers, an odd bubble distorted the shallow light from the dim fluorescent lamp over ahead. 

He caught her forearm just beyond her force field. His neck stretched his head away from the punch, an expression of mild surprise across his face. 

"Bad day?"

"You don't know the half of it." She grunted to answer his query. The film over her hand retracted as the slim appendage relocated to her hip. "Can you work tonight? I have Tyler, Matt, Lynette, and Marie all sick." 

He shrugged his shoulders. Her agitation was radiating off her and permeated the small stockroom. "I guess. I was going to be here anyway." 

"Are you sure?" The question was accented with a hint of aggression, even a little threatening. "I mean, it is your week off." 

"Yes, I'm sure." He put his hands on her shoulders, moving his left hand up to cup her ear between his thumb and index finger. "Are you alright? You seem really tense." 

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "It's nothing. I just…" Her voice trailed. 

She hadn't told him. She'd never gotten up the nerve to. At first, it wasn't his business. Then, as he slowly became more integrated into her life, it never seemed like the right time. His presences put a new perspective on things, one that she'd never had or even realized before. It made her ashamed and guilty, the kind of guilty that kept you up at night with the horrible images of what you've done playing over and over. It made her nauseous to think about that dark place he had both caused and cured. 

"It's been a rough day." Kerry finished quickly.  

His lips brushed her forehead. "You're going knock yourself out, you know that, right?" 

She nodded, melting into smile at the familiar words. It was her frequent reminder to slow down when her mind was moving too quickly for the world around her. The habitual words escaped her lips before she even thought them. "I thought that was your job."

His sly half grin grew into a large smile as he closed the already small gap between them. 

"The patented Mickey Rawlings smile." She chuckled touching his sides lightly, feeling his smooth brown leather jacket. "I must be a very good girl." 

"Very" 

His lips slid over hers, frictionless, like water over a pebble worn smooth over the years. His kisses always made her heart shiver with an excitement that was both new and familiar. She'd never met anyone that could make her feel so content. She couldn't what it feels like not to either. 

"Better?" 

She smiled. 

Her mind told her 'Nowhere close.'

Her voice told him "Close enough." 

 * Break *

         "Up to Zero, huh…" Emma's voice shouted over the loud, raucous rock/techno mix. "Cool place"

         The single room of the bar was dimly lit except for the glowing colored lights buzzing with neon. It centered around the dance floor, which lay out in the middle, closest to the small hallway that led from the door. The neon lights flooded to lace the bar that stood at the far side, elevated on a higher platform two feet from the original dark linoleum ground. A small set of stairs in the middle of the platform's edge lead up to it. Around the dance floor, patrons lounged in red couches or at round tables lined with black tablecloths.

         "Don't get any ideas." Shalimar replied irately, eyes darting around the packed room. "I want to get in and get out as quickly as possible."

         The redhead latched onto her friend as she began to push through the crowd. She knew the feral's anger was hardly about the noisy mob or the busy bar around them. Her mind was still on other matters. She didn't need her abilities to see the look of far off anger in her eyes or the unnecessary fury in her voice. Silently, she prayed she was not too distracted for the task at hand.

                  Emma tried her best to keep up with her feline friend as she gracefully bobbed and weaved through the throng of erratic dancers. Not being scientifically blessed with cat-like reflexes and balance, she worked her human dexterity furiously. Charily, the two made their way up to the bar, squeezing up the steps, passing the quasi-drunks. 

         Leaning over the bar, Shalimar motioned to the closest bartender, a blonde looking to be in her 20s. The woman finished filling two beer glasses and slid them to the waiting customer. Quickly, she jogged over to them. 

"What can I get you?" her stare was expectant.

"Kerry Parcell"

The blonde pointed towards the crowd. "On the floor, the one in the blue dancing." Shalimar turned her head towards the direction of her index finger. "And hey, would you mention that we're out of gin?" 

"We will." Emma smiled politely. "Thanks." She touched Shalimar's arm and lead her away. "So blue shirt right?"

"Is anyone looking?" 

The telempath looked around. "No"

The feral's eyes glowed a firm gold as her head pivoted from left to right in her search. 

"Oh my God…" Emma's voice flipped a switch instead her head, blinking her animal eyes off. 

Shalimar's face contorted to sudden concern. "What?"

The final chords of the song faded from the speakers into the chatter of the crowd. Abruptly, a new string of notes began with a new beat and a new key. 

Her body suddenly pressed against his, bringing her face beside his. "I'm gonna go check on Virgo and Kevin." Kerry shouted into his ear. 

"No," He replied, shaking his head. "You stay. I'm the one that's supposed to be working. I need a drink anyway." 

Kerry smiled flirtatiously and nodded. "Get me one!"

He left the floor as she began to dance wildly again, mouthed the words to the DJ's music. Watching her with a backwards glance, he smiled. Her self-confidence in the mass of dancers made him marvel. Even dancing alone, she looked like she was having the best time of her life. 

Only he knew that she hated large groups of people. Only he knew that she never danced outside her own club. She'd never shared those secrets with anyone but him, because he was different than everyone else. She told him time and time again that he was special to her. It felt good to be special to someone. 

Trotting up the steps, he weaved between customers carrying drinks. "Hey Kevin!" He shouted as he neared the swinging door at the end of the bar. "Is everything okay up here?"

"Gin!" The tall Hispanic man cried pouring a shot. "Can you get some?" 

          "Absolutely! Back in a flash!" 

         "He didn't even see us." Shalimar spat flatly, twisting a look of disgust on her face. 

 "That's him alright." Emma's eyes followed him as he disappeared into a room behind the bar. "I'm definitely getting his vibes. What do we do?"

"You get Kerry. I'll get him." 

The telempathic's stomach jumped at the almost malicious look in her eye. "Oh no no no no no…. I have a better idea." 

He could still hear the muffled thumps of the music outside the smooth painted wood and concrete walls. Carefully, he walked down the side aisle of the numerous supply shelves, quickly scanning the contents of both sides. His pace slowed at the sight of boxes with glass bottlenecks peering over the top. 

Squatting, he looked over the boxes closest to the ground. Running his fingers over the labels, he searched for a shipping order with the right liquid he needed. 

The rusted hinges creaked in the still air of the back room. Someone was there.

Kerry bobbed along with the dancers around her, thoroughly enjoying the pulsating beat. She loved the wild atmosphere that exuded from the room, the very room that was her own. It was her bar, her mother's brainchild. The comfort of being in a place she loved, the control she had, gave her a new type of self-confidence, a new invigorating high that was better than any drink or drug she'd ever tried. 

And then it came crashing down. 

A strong hand on her shoulder spun her around. 

"Hi there"

A low sinking feeling flooded his stomach and his skin crawled. 

         Between the box-filled metal compartments, he saw a pair of foreign black-leather high-heeled boots. 

He stood up slowly. She wouldn't be able to see him from the angle at the door. There had been no footsteps yet. She had to be just inside the doorframe. In his head, he traced out a floor plan of the backroom. 

There was only one real exit, and the assailant was standing right in front of it. One way or the other, he'd have to make a move for it. 

Slow solid taps called out across the concrete floor. 

"Who the hell are you?" Kerry shouted. Her fist rose to her chest defensively. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

"You know what." Her voice was strong, yet passive, even predictably over confident. 

But there was something more. A scary determination glowed in the back of her eyes. She didn't want to play games now. 

"I don't know anything."

"You know more than you think." 

He took in a deep breath. As the air flowed from his lungs in an exhale, he could feel the molecules in his body expanding. The familiar tingling sensation flooded his body as he began to walk, through the metal shelves, cardboard boxes, and glass bottles. 

Just two aisles to go and he could make a break for the door, grab Kerry, and get to safety. 

She looked around at oblivious patrons around her. They didn't even seem to notice the confrontation right in front of them. "If we do this, not here." 

"I just want to talk, Kerry."

The statement seemed genuine, and for a moment she wanted to trust her. Her better judgment kicked in. Don't trust strangers, especially stranger who don't let go.  "You're going to keep coming after me, aren't you?" 

Shalimar shrugged. "That depends on how much you know, and how much you tell me." 

Kerry nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. She took a hesitant step forward, followed by more, each more confident than the last. As she passed her, Kerry shouted clearly over the music. "Fine, but on my terms. Tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp." 

He caught a glimpse of her as he moved: red hair, black backless top, black knee high skirt. She was creeping up the long passageway perpendicular to the supply aisles. Conveniently, her head was focused in front of her, like what she was looking for was clearly already in her line of sight. 

He smirked. She had to be a new recruit to be that dense. He wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or thank his lucky stars. 

He reached the aisle across from the door. The breath he'd been holding out rushed in his lungs as the molecules reformed his body. Now all he'd have to do is beat her to the exit. 

As he crept along the row, he continued to watch her. She'd stopped, hands on her hips. Suddenly her head cocked, looking towards the ground at an angle. She was listening for him. 

He'd reached the end of the shelf. The door was less than 5 feet away. 

'On three,' He thought, taking in a large silent breath, readying himself to phase and bolt together. 'One, two…'

"You think you can hide from me?" 

Her voice hit his ears like a hammer in the cool quiet, startling him, eyes growing wide in fear. In half a second, he was at the door, forgetting his genetic abilities, fumbling with the doorknob. 

His eyes glanced up and his body froze.

"Emma" His voice whispered.

She smiled. Her voice continued with the same familiar softness. "You can't run from me, Jesse." 

Blackness

Confusion set in for a small moment of time, no longer than a second.

The smell of stale air…

The low white light…

The hum of computer equipment…

The feel of the smooth plastic…

He knew exactly were he was.


	4. Chapter 4: Headaches and Heros

A/N- Wow, I actually churned this one out pretty fast. I'm pretty happy with it too. Big ol' thanks to my brand new beta Vega! Big thanks to those who reviewed! Enjoy! Review, Review, Review!

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"Good morning," Adam walked into the lab, hands behind his back with an amused smile playing on his lips. 

Jesse shot the older man a look of disgust, pulling at the tough straps that held his arms to the armrests of the slightly reclined observation chair. "You better have a damn good explanation for this, Adam." 

"I do," pulling the seat next to the examination chair, he paused. "I assure you, I do. But first things first," pulling the seat next to the examination chair, he paused. "How are you, Jesse?"

"I'll be a lot better when you unstrap me." He yanked at the leather strips again. "Is this really necessary?"

He sat down and shrugged. "Can you honestly tell me your first thought when you realized where you were wasn't to get out?"

He rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't yours be?"

"No," Adam replied with a smile. "It would be to phase the restraints…and then get out." 

The straps suddenly wilted down against the armrest, still buckled tightly. Jesse rubbed his wrists bitterly. "So what's with the kidnapping, Adam? It's not exactly your style." 

"Well, I can't take all the credit for it." the scientist replied, leaning back in his chair. "You still haven't told me how you are."

"You still haven't told me your explanation," Jesse spat, eyeing the man. Adam could see the anger in his eyes. It was more intense than he could ever remember seeing there. "I assume it's about the email." 

"You got the email," the older man echoed with a nod, internally resolving not to show his annoyance at the brisk answers and attitude. "Good. I thought it might have just winded up in your inbox here." 

"Yeah, well, you're lucky I forgot to disable the forwarding rule after the first week." 

"Not really. I changed your password right after you set it up." He smiled. "It's one of the perks of designing and controlling the system." 

The grin grated his nerves. Adam was just sitting there, looking so pleased with himself, like he caught a prize animal, like he was enjoying Jesse's anger. "Can you stop being amused at this for one second and tell me what you want me to do? Because the sooner you tell me, the sooner I can say no." 

Adam slowly leaned forward, the entertained look vanishing from his face. "Just hear me out, Jesse." 

Jesse crossed his arms over his chest, broiling in his own spiteful feelings. "I'm waiting." 

"Over the past month, New Mutants have been sporadically disappearing. And not just one kind of mutant either: Moleculars to Elementals; Ferals to Psionics; weak to strong; male and female. A few days ago we learned about a group of bounty hunters." 

 "Come on, Adam. Even I know the answer to that one." Jesse smirked sarcastically. "You send Brennan in as a prisoner slash mole and infiltrate the group, or maybe Shalimar. Isn't that what you normally do?" 

Adam shook his head. "It's not that simple. This group has never made a mistake. Their communications are untraceable. Their operations are flawless. Tracking them has been a long tedious process that even I can do alone." 

"I don't do this anymore, Adam." The molecular looked to the ceiling and gave a brisk, disbelieving sigh. "I'm not an honorary member that you can bring in when you feel like it. I was done then. I'm done now." 

Adam sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Then there's something you need to see."

* -Break- *

"Knock, knock." 

Emma looked up from her bed, her head pounding each inch it moved. Brennan was leaning against the doorframe, a thin metal cylinder in his hand. His face showing obvious sympathy. "I thought you might be in here. How you feeling?"

"A little dizzy," the redhead replied laying her head back down on her pillow. "Did Adam send you?" 

"Yeah. He's a little busy right now." He began to walk towards her, showing her the object in his possession. "I hope you don't mind." 

"As long as you can make this headache go away." She sat up, moving to the head of her bed. Curling her feet beneath her, she cleared a space for Brennan to sit. As he did, Emma extended her right arm, palm up, and began to roll up her sleeve. 

He pulled the top half off the slender tube to reveal a smooth rounded end with a tiny pin extending from it. At the opposite end was a small circular button. He gripped the canister with the button towards the ceiling, lightly touching it with his thumb. Emma grimaced as he put it just above the slightly scarred crook of her arm.

 "Ready?" He asked. 

She nodded looking away from it, eyes closed. He took in a slow breath before pricking her skin as quickly as he could, to make the pain as minimal as possible. In his head, he counted to two, as instructed, before releasing the medicine. 

Her face contorted into an immediate wince. "God," she moaned to herself. 

Brennan pulled the cylinder out and quickly blotted the small dot of red with a tissue from his pocket. She continued to cringe in pain as he placed a ready-made bandage over her wound. 

"You just rest until the pain reliever kicks in," he said, swiftly capping the mechanism. He took her good arm and helping her stretch out on the mattress. 

Wiping a tear from her eye, she settled into her blanket. "After six months, you'd think I'd be used to it by now."

Brennan smiled. "Just keep thinking about how good you'll feel later." She nodded and grew silent. He stood beside her bed, watching her try to ignore what had to be a burning pain. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No," She croaked reaching for him with her hand. "Stay here and talk with me." 

"Alright," he answered, taking her hand and kneeling beside the bed. "What do you want to talk about?" 

She was quiet for a moment. "Have you seen Jesse yet?"

"No, I'm still debating whether I want to." 

"Is he still in the lab?"

"As far as I know, Adam's still monitoring him." 

"I didn't hurt him, did I?"

"No," he answered, reaching up to stroke her forehead with his free hand. "Of course not. Adam said your control is getting better." 

 Emma smiled. "That's good." 

Her grin made his lips curl into a smile. "Yeah. Soon, you'll be back to your old self again."

A sudden cringe crossed her face. "Brennan," she whimpered griping his hand tightly. 

"Shhhh, it's okay." He hushed her, leaning in closer, touching her face again. "Focus on me. It's alright." 

It was hard to see her like this, the young woman whom he cared deeply for. She didn't deserve this torment, for all she'd been through. At least once a week, she'd have to have her agonizing drugs, just to survive, more if she over-worked. Each time, she would writhe in burning pain, until the slow anesthetic starts to run its course. Far too slow, in his opinion. It wasn't fair in any respect. She was far too kind, far too caring, to be put through this kind of hell.  

Suddenly, her face and hand relaxed. Her eyes opened and blinked a few times. "I think the painkiller's working now." 

"Good. How's your head?"

"Perfect," she replied squeezing his hand. "Thanks, Brennan." 

"No problem." The ex-con smiled. "What are friends for?"

* -Break- *

The low blue light made her skin a pasty white color. She lay practically motionless, lacking any aura of energy around her. Only her chest rose and dived slightly. Her eyes were closed. Her wavy brown hair rested on the chair's headrest, except for the ends, which dangled above the body of the chair. Her body was thin, an unhealthy thin. There were healing wounds up and down her face and arms. 

"Her name is Lila Evans, a propulsion molecular from up-state. Two nights ago, she contacted us after escaping the hunters' holding facility. When we got to her, she was being restrained by their men." Adam explained. "Shalimar and Brennan fought them off, but before she could tell us anything, they activated the electrical shock capabilities of her subdermal governor, sending her into a comatose state."

Jesse barely heard the details in his strange daze. "How old is she?"

"Late teens, maybe early twenties. Her profile in the database has some holes. She'd been missing for a few years now."

"She looks young enough still be in school, to still have a family somewhere," Jesse muttered. 

The sight was heartbreaking on its own. He could remember being that age, the fear, the hatred that walked hand in hand with it, but being locked up because of the source of all those negative emotions….it had to have a multiplier effect.

The deciding fact, however, was the scene in his head. His mind's eye saw an older woman, 23 or 24, comatose on the very same chair. No bruises, no scars, just a small burn mark above her ear. She wore a dirt smudged blue floral print shirt and torn black pants. He saw long red hair.

"What's your answer, Jesse? We're wasting time." 

He turned away from the window. Part of him wanted to help. Part of him wanted revenge and damages for this horrendous crime against his kind. Part of him wanted to jump back in, do what he'd spent a year avoiding. 

The other part wanted him to back away, refuse. This wasn't his life. It wasn't his place to exact vengeance on anyone. 

 He wasn't a hero anymore. He was never a hero. 

         He looked back to the woman. The same crystal clear images floated in his head. 

         And he knew his answer. 

"I'm in," he replied quietly. "But I'll need a few things."


	5. Chapter 5: Injuries

A/N- I'm back! Did yah miss me? Okay, a few notes: (1) This plot line belongs to me and only me. It's copyrighted. If you would like to borrow it (for websites, etc), email me. I don't like plagiarism. Be original. Think of your own storylines. (2) I don't own Mutant X. (3) I don't have a clue what a 'firewall' is. They used them to try and contain Kilohertz (I think), so I'm assuming it prevents hackers and the like. If it's not, pardon my ignorance. (4) I apologize to all Brennan fans I offend (though I hope I don't at all). (5) vega rocks, and don't you forget it…. Okay, I think that's it…lets get on with it…R/R…

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         The heavy metal door creaked. Direct sunlight spilled into the smooth bare concrete floor from the open doorway, showing the falling dust in the air. The silence gave away the emptiness of the small, forgotten warehouse. 

         "What a place to live," Brennan commented, pushing his sunglass up from his nose to his head as he strolled casually into the long corridor. 

Emma moved past him, looking up the hallway ahead of them and into the doorway to their left. "Compared to some of the places we've been, seems kind of homey to me." 

         "Whatever. You getting anything?"

         The telempath glanced around the corridor again, touching the wall at her left, beyond the doorway. In the back of her mind, something was there. It was quiet, but there. "I think so. I'm trying to pinpoint it." 

         The two walked carefully down the dingy hallway. Each step they took creaked in the still air. Emma set her eyes on the floor in front of her, focusing on the foreign feelings inside her own head. It was growing, acting like a strange homing beacon, intensifying with every second, pulsing like a headache. She touched her forehead and began to massage her sinus passage. 

         "Tell me if it's too much, Em," Brennan voiced behind her. 

         The pulsing slowed. She glanced around. A door to her right called out to her. She griped the doorknob, gladly replacing the boundaries in her mind to block the emotions out. 

         "Locked." 

         Brennan brushed her behind him with an arrogant smile. "Let me," With a flick of his wrist, he shot a single bolt of electricity into the old rusted lock. "Now try." 

         She pushed past him to try the door again. The knob stopped short of a full turn once more. Emma rolled her eyes. "Not even close." 

         "Alright, alright," Brennan replied, coming forward again, "I'll try Plan B. Do you have a hair pin?" She shot him a look. "I'm gonna try and pick it. I wasn't a thief for nothing." He waved his fingers at her in a give-me motion. "Come on, hair pin." 

         She felt through her long hair. "I don't think I have one." 

         "What? What kind of girl are you?"

         "One that doesn't use hair pins." Emma shot back, rummaging through the pockets of her black overcoat. Suddenly her hand reemerged. "Safety pin?" 

Brennan smiled, taking the small metal object from her. "Finally, something I can work with." He popped open the pin from its closed position and inserted it into the dead bolt. Biting his lip, he twisted it around, against the tiny metal pieces inside the door, waiting for the telltale pop. 

         He turned the knob again and the door pushed open with ease. "Admit it. You're impressed." 

Emma chuckled as Brennan ushered her in. "Constantly, Brennan." 

         The two entered what was less of a room, and more like the rest of the un-renovated warehouse. Wooden crates were piled up against the wall like a tower with various height levels. Other old pieces of equipment were stationed around the room: a rickety old balance beam near the corner, a pair of rings hanging from the high ceiling, a high bar anchored to the ground by two flimsy-looking boards. A large navy sparring mat covered a great deal of the excess room. To one side of it, two dirty looking white towels had been tossed aside. Scattered around the room were a few pieces of either broken or oddly bent wood. 

         The elemental reached down and picked up a piece close to his foot. The firm wood was bent around a large oval imprint in the center. He swung it once against his open palm to check its solidity. "Never seen anything like this." 

         "Think it could be from a fight?" Emma's eyebrows furrowed into a look of perplexing confusion as she continued out in front of him to examine the room.

         He shrugged. "Doesn't look like much of a struggle if it was," he nodded towards the blue floor padding, "the mat's barely messed up. The way these things are spread, they would have left a trail to the door." 

         The air whooshed in front of him as something fell to the ground. Brennan barely had time to react before the plastic sole of a boot was launched towards his face. His hands came up, using the contorted piece of timber to stop it before impact with his head. 

         "Kerry, right?" He stated a look of surprise on his face.

         Without an answer, Kerry threw herself into a back handspring, smacking the tall man in the chin with both her feet, throwing backwards, off balance, against the hard wall. 

         Seconds after attacker regained her upright position, the telempath squinted concentrating hard on the brunette. A flash of light released from her forehead. 

         Kerry's arm flew to her head, suddenly surrounded in her light contorting bubble. The blast reached the field and bounced away, hitting, instead, the redhead. Emma crumpled to the floor. 

         The angry woman rushed to the fallen man, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him, wincing from his incredible impact with the wall, to his feet. With all the force in her body, she slammed him against the rusted steel walls. "Where the hell is Mickey!?" 

         "What?" Brennan asked, confused and slightly dazed by the surprise blow.

         She brought her free hand to his neck, enclosed in her inch thick film. "Don't play games with me, jackass." Her voice was crazy with anger, even maniacal. "This cuts through skin like freakin' Jell-O!" With every syllable, she shook her lethal hand at his throat. 

         "I'm not lying! I swear!" 

         "I recognize your girlfriend from the club! I know you took him! Now where is he?!"

         Brennan's mind whirled. Her eyes were exploding with fury. She just might be crazy enough to kill him. The bubble was so close to his skin he could feel it hovering. Any movement and it would be over. 

         "Answer me, you son of a --" 

         Flash.

         Her eyes suddenly relaxed as her body began to fall to the floor. In the same second, Brennan's tension disappeared. The threat was gone.

         But her powers were not. 

         Brennan shouted in pain as the field cut into his shoulder, peeling away his jacket and t-shirt, ripping his flesh apart. Quickly, though not quickly enough, he batted her hand away. He slid along the wall to the floor beside his attacker. He could feel his thick blood soaking the edges of his clothes.

         "Brennan!" Emma shouted, crawling to him from her place on the floor. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

         "Damnit!" he shouted touching the large open wound. "Aw, damn!" 

         Immediately, Emma pulled her jacket from her back and began ripping the inner lining into strips. "This should stop the bleeding. I'm calling Adam for backup." 

         "No, I can make it to the Helix." Brennan moaned trying to get back to his feet. "I can make it. You get her." 

· -Break- *

· 

         Jesse rubbed his chin, his mind spinning with logic problems and computer code. Adam hadn't wasted time getting the blonde to his task, giving him his own computer and immediate access to the Genomex database. Now all he had to do was to begin his search, a tedious task of breaking down firewalls and pass codes. It wasn't exactly difficult, not for him at least, just a lot of work to be done by hand. 

         In the last few minutes he'd gotten an idea though, a sudden stroke of inspiration. Since then, he'd been bent over the machine, working his magic to make his plan a reality.

         He heard her before he could see her. Her boots made loud clinking noises against the smooth floor. She could have muffled them if she wanted, but rarely did in the safety of home. After he heard her, he felt her. Her presence in the room was unmistakable and unforgettable, a feeling of warmth mixed with anger. It was something he'd learned to pick up from all their years together. 

         He didn't turn his head at first. He had to fight the urge to glance over at her, to say something. Something told him not to. It would be a bad move to start the conversation. If she wanted to speak to him, she would speak first. Confrontation was her way, not his. 

         But he did want to talk to her. He couldn't deny that something else in him wanted to confide in her again. The thought of their old relationship wandered across his mind more than he chose to admit…

         ... So did the harsh words, the screaming, and the painful silence. 

         Unbearable curiosity forced his eyes from his screen. Her face was serious. She walked over to couches in the other half of the large room. Holding a thick packet of papers, she settled into the sofa, putting her feet up on the coffee table in the midst of the furniture. Her eyes began to move across the first page quickly, reading whatever information it held. 

         He held the glance for only a second, returning to the computer in front of him to stare even harder at it, compensating for the weakness in his judgment. He wondered if she knew he was there. Her mannerisms and actions told him no. She wasn't interested in whether or not he was there, then and now. His gut told him yes. Her strong feral sense could detect anyone from a mile away, much less a few feet. 

         But what did he care? He had work to do, and with all his energy he tried to concentrate on that work. 

         "Not even a hello?" 

         Had he said that? He didn't even realize he'd opened his mouth. 

         She looked up at him. 

         He didn't realize he was looking at her either. 

         Her face remained the same calm expression, the first one he'd seen on her in a long time. He didn't see anger or hatred. Maybe she'd forgiven him. Maybe it would be okay. 

         But with her most casual tone, she replied, 

         "Go to hell."

* -Break- *

         Bart watched as the redhead dragged the brunette out of the rundown loft. A man emerged, clutching his bloody shoulder and stumbling after the woman ahead. She turned her head and called to him. He yelled back, cringing, trying to move faster. She looked worried, but continued her path. 

         His eyes snapped open like the tiny cell phone in his hand. In a smooth clear voice, he stated, "Movement 2, 1 injured, Black barrier down. Pursuit?" 

There was a moment of complete silence. 

         "Negative, return and debrief." 

         He slowly placed the phone back in his pocket. Freddie looked at him, shaking her long blond hair out of her face. "So?"

         "We're done here," Bart replied, shifting the small unlicensed black car out of park. "For now at least."


	6. Chapter 6: Lies and Pain

A/N- Yay! Part 6! Sorry this is so short. When I was arranging chapters, this one got screwed over. Plus, it's not spectacular. Bear with me. The next two months are going to be hectic for me. Reviews are welcome as always. Much thanks to vega….

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"Kerry!"

His heart leapt as he ran between the opening metal doors. She looked up at him, hands dropping from across her chest and against her chin. He covered the ground between them quickly and wrapped his arms around her tense shoulders, feeling the comfort from just being near her. "God, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Abruptly, she began to writhe in his embrace and violently shoved him off her. The soft light shining in between the slits of the wall beside them made horizontal lines across her expression. Her face was stern, her mouth curved into a slight frown, her eyes piercing with both aggression and disappointed disbelief. His stomach lurched with impending disaster. 

"Mutant X?" each syllable hung in the air pointedly, "Mutant freaking X?"

"Ker--"

Her hand shoot up, palm out, motioning for him to stop. "No, I'm not even warmed up yet!" she cried, "I can't even begin to believe this! I took you in, dammit! I gave you a freakin' job! I gave you a place to train! You were so convincing that I actually trusted you! I don't trust anybody, Mickey!" She paused and scoffed maliciously. "Or is it Jesse?" 

The last word made him wince. Her tone had expressed so much disgust and hatred. It sat on his brain, stewing in its own self-loathing and irrational anger. No one had said his name in such a way in years. It was that tone that had almost brought the razor to his psychological wrist. It made him hate himself. 

Subconsciously, his fists began to tighten. "Don't say my name like that, Kerry."

"Like what? Like you're a liar? Like you're dirt? Well, sorry if I don't exactly feel the need to make you happy." Kerry spat back, turning on her heels. She began to walk down the back corridor. 

He ran after her, gripping her arm to stop her in her tracks, spinning her back around. "I _never_ lied to you! Not once! We had an understanding, Kerry. You wouldn't ask questions; I wouldn't ask questions. That's what our relationship is based on."

She heatedly jerked her arm out of his grip. "Wrong! You know everything about me! You know about my life! You know about my powers! Damn it all! I even told you about my mother!" Kerry released his hand and it dropped to his side. Her voice lowered its intensity to almost a tired volume. "And what I thought I knew about you, I don't know if it's even true anymore," she began to back away, "Tell your friends I'm outta here."  She turned and jogged the rest of the way down the hallway. 

He stood frozen, watching her leave. She didn't understand. His frustration was so overwhelming; it pushed at every part of him to be released. His hands shook and his muscles tensed. He felt the anger boiling inside of him, growing, rising, bubbling, foaming …

He screamed. Taking in a breath, he slammed his right fist against the wooden divider with all his human strength. His arm retracted as the orange net of molecules disappeared, leaving a fist-size hole in between the smooth, thin boards that he'd only narrowly missed.

 Then, his breathing began to slow as his rage subsided. He looked back to where she'd exited. With a sigh, he glanced at his destruction. 

He didn't feel better.

* -Break- *

            Adam gently wrapped the sling around Brennan's arm, buckling the strap around his neck. "Too tight?"

"No." Brennan shook his head with a sigh. 

"You're lucky, you know," Adam replied, making the injured mutant grimace as he pulled up on the tough, Velcro strip to give more support to his bandaged shoulder. "She could have sliced your arm off." He stepped away, letting Brennan try the brace out. "Good?" 

Brennan nodded, sliding carefully off the examination table. "I thought she did."

Adam smiled as he headed to the keyboard sticking out of the wall. "Close enough without doing any serious damage," He typed in a few letters. On the screen at the far side of the room, a large color image of his wound appeared. Beside it, a three-dimensional cut away shot. "It separated skin, blood vessels, and took a piece out of a tendon. Narrowly missed a bone too." 

Brennan examined the picture with slight nausea. His skin had been pulled away, gathering in a clump around the edges of the blood red rectangular patch, revealing the inner workings of his shoulder. "Never seen anything like it." 

"Kerry's a Molecular Repulsive. She secretes a film from her skin that, as far as I can tell, repels all organic and inorganic molecules."

"So basically, she displaced my skin away from itself." 

"In a word, yes." Adam nodded.  

"Great" the younger man snorted angrily. "So I guess I'm warming the bench." 

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Just until your shoulder heals." 

"And how long will that be?" he asked tersely.

The scientist crossed his arms over his chest. "My guess is a few weeks, but I want to get it check out by a friend of mine, Dr. Susan Thoreau. She's a psionic surgeon in town that does free New Mutant check-ups. She'll check you out see if I missed anything." 

Brennan sighed. "Fine, but let's go now. I don't wanna be out of the game long." 

"Neither do I. In a way, it couldn't have happened at a worse time, with the bounty hunters still out there, and Emma's attacks." Adam's face suddenly changed into an expression of amusement. "But in another, it couldn't have happened at a better time."

"Are you kidding? Jesse's the one that caused this," he scoffed and pointed to his bandaged shoulder. "I mean, what the hell was he thinking, asking us to get his girlfriend for him." 

"Knowing Jesse, he probably wanted someone on his side to be here."

"No, Adam. That's the problem. We don't know him anymore. You can't pretend the past year never happened."

"Who's pretending?"

Adam and Brennan looked over at the door. The short blonde feral strode in with a look of interest, which quickly morphed into concern. 

"Brennan! What happened?" Shalimar cried, glancing from his arm to his face. 

"Emma and I went to go get Jesse's girlfriend. You might know her. Kerry?" Brennan replied sarcastically. "Yeah, well, she ambushed us and took a dent out of my shoulders. Emma had to use a psionic blast." 

Shalimar's shocked glare turned to Adam. "I've already talk to her about it. She's resting." He answered calmly. 

She looked back at Brennan. "How bad is it?"

"It's not horrible, but I'll be out of commission for a few weeks." 

"I don't like this, Adam." Shalimar said, taking a step towards the older man. "We need him to take out the hunters."

"We'll have to do our best without him. Besides, we may not even need him. We won't know until Jesse's done searching the system."

The feral growled. "I can't all those missing New Mutants' lives are on the back of a traitor."   


	7. Chapter 7: New Friend and Old Secrets

A/N- Part 7, people. Let's lock and load. Thanks to those who reviewed! This is officially my most reviewed story! Yay! 

I want to point out that the shortness of this chapter is not due to planning. It's due to the fact that the last scene kinda stuck out like a sore thumb so I found a better place for it in the next chapter. Don't worry. It was kinda dull, anyway… As always, vega is my hero…R/R

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Jesse pulled open the tan wood bureau drawer. His hand wandered over the pile of clothes that had already been put away. 

Their color and style were predictable: light beiges, whites, even a yellow here and there; sweaters, dress shirts, a few old, plain t-shirts. Each piece drastically contrasted the black bartender uniform he still wore. 

The neatly folded jeans were in the next compartment. He'd found the old trench coats in the closet. They radiated the odor of dust and stale storage air. 

He marveled in a way, the fact that they were still there in the same order he'd left them in. It felt like he was looking at a mini time capsule. He could even remember the moment he last looked at each. 

"Hi." 

He glanced towards the door out of the corner of his eye. Then he turned, leaning against the bureau, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hi," he answered quickly, board-line vindictive.

Emma smiled as she took one more step into the room. "How are you?"

"Good," he let himself say. Deep down in his chest, he burned to say more. He had so many questions to ask, so many things to say, but he waited. He waited for her to pour out her disappointments in him, to tell him off, to let him know how much he had ruined her life.

"Good," she nodded, looking around the bare room. "Good." Her gaze returned to his face. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you, I'm sorry for using my powers on you like that. I won't do it again, I swear." 

He held his expression constant, eyeing her where she stood. "Okay." 

"So…um…" she stuttered. "I haven't seen you in forever. What have you been up to?"

He shrugged. "Not a lot." 

In silence, she stared at him expectantly, but he neither spoke nor moved. He stood defensively, arms across his chest like a barrier, just waiting, anticipating all the malicious words to spout. 

"You know, it's hard to have a conversation with only monosyllable answers," her voice blurted out belligerently. She paused, taking in a breath. "Listen, Jess, I know you feel caged here and I know you feel like no one wants you here, but having an attitude isn't going to help things." 

"Stay out of my head, Emma." 

"I didn't have to go into your head, Jesse. I have eyes and ears and human intuition," she shot back. "And I guess it didn't help that she left." 

Jesse looked away from her, hiding his suddenly hurt face. He wished the thoughts out of his heads, trying to ignore her words.

"Adam took her back in the Helix ten minutes ago." she pressed. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

"What's to tell?" he answered softly. "What woman likes to be lied to?" His eyes lowered to the floor. A soft chuckle rose from his throat and a small smile flickered on his lips. "You know what's funny? She's the only thing that's kept me sane over the past year, and it's only because she has more problems than I do. Kerry Parcell: a dark, gorgeous, dangerous, emotional mess." he paused, the smile quickly extinguished. "It's ironic how when I need her, she breaks it off. I guess I should have expected it though, Kerry's never been very good at the 'give' side of a relationship."

"If I recall correctly," Emma replied, "you were never good at the 'take' side." 

"Yeah," Jesse answered. "I guess I just feel like I'm behind enemy lines. There's no one in my corner, so to speak." 

"What about me?"

He met her stare and replied sardonically, "You mean Shalimar hasn't tainted your mind, yet."

Her face tightened into a stern, unpleased expression. "Nobody taints my mind but me, Jesse. I have no reason not to be the friend I always was to you, even if Shal or Brennan think differently."

"Good to know." He smiled as a strange comfort came over him. In that instant, he suddenly reflected over what he had told her, and grinned larger. "How do you always get me to tell you exactly what I feel?"

Emma reciprocated his smile with a playful shrug. "It's a gift."

* - Break - *

Kerry had walked down the solitary back road before. Between school and work, the path had been permanently etched into her brain. The broken window of the old furniture warehouse, the white spray painted gang symbol on the long forgotten trashcan, the tattered green wool blanket left by a vagabond just passing through -- each had its own homey quality that only she could feel. 

Her arms bundled her coat around her tighter. The evening chill was beginning to puncture the angry warmth that flowed under her skin. The fight still had had her blood searing and her mind buzzing, but slowly, second by second, she could feel the winter breeze cooling the boil to a simmer and the tiredness of the previous night's worried insomnia setting in. Now she just wished to return to her home and sleep away the bad hand life had dealt her. 

Passing the boarded up door that served as the buildings decoy entrance, she turned the corner into the small alleyway between the abandoned apartment building and her warehouse. Approaching the half ajar steel door, her throat released a scoff. If someone was going to kidnap you, the least they could do was to shut the door behind them. 

But then again, what had she expected?

Her hand slid over the metal, pushing the door open farther, when a glint of gold caught her eye. 

The rotting wooden door, not five feet away, closed off the back alleyway her mother had always joked was their yard. The former matron of the house had decided to padlock the pavement garden to keep bums away from their back door. That rusted lock now hung open on its golden hook, dangling helplessly. 

With an almost animalistic quickness, she grabbed the small metal lock and scanned it over. There were no marks, no scratches. 

Throwing it aside, she violently pushed passed the gate into the small back alley, barely big enough to store a car. All the fire escapes were up, trashcans fully upright.

Each weed was even in its place… 

 But the door, the back door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only', stood barely open, gaping only enough to send a cold shiver up her spine.

Her movements turned suddenly cautious from a new elicited fear. Slowly, she crept to the door, carefully pulled the rusty doorknob to her. Her eye grew wide. 

The hallway was destroyed. Her two small tables had been smashed to splinters.

Pictures frames torn apart, glass scattered all over the floor. Dirt from her small potted flower, the only one she'd managed to keep alive, mingled with the shards while the plant itself was brutally ripped apart, laying in its cold bitter death over the table remains.

"What the hell?" Kerry whispered tiptoeing through the hallway. 

To her left, through the kitchen doorway, she could see the contents of her fridge splattered all over the floor. Dirty pots and pans scattered over the counters and on the linoleum. The metal legs had been bent on the bottoms of her chairs and the circular table knocked over in the fray. 

She turned left and into her bedroom. The drawers had been pulled out of their slots, clothes ripped to rags. Her two bedside tables met the same fate as her hallway stands. Candle wax crumbled in bits along the concrete floor, below splashes of colors on the smooth wood walls.

Only the bed remained unscathed. She breathes a sigh of relief. It appeared as a lull in the storm of her belongings. Among the calculated and cruelly destroyed mess, it was calm and majestic. 

Her eyes spotted the blemish of white on the blue sheets immediately. She rushed to pick up the piece of even paper, forgetting her slow pace. 

Her skin grew cold.

'Dead men tell no tales,

          Neither do dead Mutants.

            - Ember'


	8. Chapter 8: Please Don't Leave Me

A/N- Hey all! Sorry for not getting this up faster. There were some completely unavoidable circumstances that prevented beta-ing. As a reward for your patient waiting, this chapter is longer! Yay! As always, thank you vega! You're awesome! Don't forget to tell me what you think! Reviews motivate me to get this done!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She sat with her back against the sandstone boulder, looking out over the water.

The sun was slowly sinking in to the depths, leaking the most beautiful array of pinks and purples and reds she'd ever seen. 

Growing up in the city, she'd never experienced the wonders of nature so vividly. Never in her entire life had she witnessed such stunning serenity. Each color melded so brilliantly with the next, each living in a perfect harmonious peace with its neighbors.

But while the beauty touched some part of her, she knew, deep down, it stirred up strange confusion. All her life, she been fighting, fighting for her life, fighting to survive, fighting to protect the things that mattered the most to her. It felt odd to experience a moment where fighting was irrelevant, something she knew she hadn't earned with fists. 

"You want some company?"

"No," Kerry replied, keeping her eyes on the disappearing sun. 

Emma stepped closer, the dry, dead leaves crunched under her feet. As she reached the rock, one hand explored its smooth, hard surface. "You sure?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't."

The redhead remained unmoved, much to Kerry's dismay. Apparently, she underestimated the gentle woman's attitude tolerance. She thought for a moment how she could get the intruder to leave and allow her enjoy the moment before she had to sort out her next move. 

 "I thought you were going home." 

"I did," Kerry answered simply, keeping her own information in check. The more she knew and others didn't, she'd learned, the more of an advantage she had. 

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to watch the damn sunset." Kerry shot back irately, meeting her glance with annoyed eyes, "Do you mind?"

"Sorry," Emma half-whispered. 

The gentle woman felt silent and, for a moment, Kerry suspected she might leave. "You know, Kerry," she began again; her voice was more forceful, like she had just set her mind to something, "I didn't come up here for pleasantries." 

"Good, 'cause you're not getting any." 

"I came up here to tell you that you made a big mistake." 

Kerry scoffed. "Really."

"Yes," Emma replied. Her face held a sympathetic, almost pained look. "You did." 

"And what mistake might that be?"

"Jesse is not the bad guy here. He doesn't like to hurt people. I know that lying to you hurt him as much as it hurt you."

Kerry's face remained still, solemn with a hint of irritation. "It's funny how our interpretations vary." 

"Listen." Emma crouched to the ground next to her, her voice calmed with a hint of melancholy desperation. "I don't know about the Jesse you know, but my Jesse, he was born to help people. He's torn up about this. I think if you can find it in your heart to trust him again, things would be better for both of you."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child!" Kerry spat abruptly. "It's not your business what I do and who I trust! You don't know about me or my life, and frankly I don't give a rat's ass about what you think or who you know. So why don't you go play peacemaker someplace else!" 

In the next moment she saw it, a dull flash of emotion in the telempath's eyes. She looked away quickly, trying to hide something. 

Guilt…

Kerry looked away, not at the almost fully vanished sun, but at the grass and dirt mixture beneath her legs, biting her lip to hold back a fit of anger. "You were trying to read me weren't you?"

Emma glanced at her with a mixture of fear and remorse. "I'm sorry, Kerry." 

"You're a telepath or something, a psionic. I remember the blast you threw at me." 

"Telempath," she admitted.

"God!" Kerry sighed angrily and climbed to her feet. She pointed a warning finger at the telempath. "Stay out of my head, Red, if you know what's good for you." 

* Break *

Dull thuds of punches and small grunts of effort rang out in the silence. Her body twisted and curled, extending and recoiling with each punch and kick in an angry ballet. A thin film of sweat barely graced her skin as she moved back and forth, swaying like a practiced kick-boxer, berating the punching bag with her tiny, powerful, wrapped hands. 

It was a rare occasion that nothing went through her head, no conceivable thoughts, no new ideas, no coping of any kind. Her focus was instead on the black, absence of color in front of her, providing a direct path for emotion, not through her head, but through her fists.  

Suddenly, her hand hit the plastic with only a fraction of the power before. Her body slowed and she straightened, hands outstretched to steady the large black bag. 

"Adam." 

"Training?" Adam asked as he sauntered into the gym. 

Shalimar turned and shrugged. "Just practicing what I'm gonna do when we get our hands on the bounty hunter's leader." 

Adam smiled to himself as he slowed to a stop. "Really…" 

"What are you up to?" she asked pulling at the tape across her knuckles. "I thought you were working." 

"Well, even us geniuses need a break every once in a while --- otherwise that computer scene would have made me blind years ago." 

Shalimar chuckled. "I guess so." She balled up the white stripes and threw them into the corner. "So is this a social visit, or…?"

Adam shot her a sly look as he took a step towards the wall. "Not exactly." His hand reached for his jacket collar and slowly shoved it backwards and off the man's back. "I was wondering if you'd give me the pleasure of a little sparing match." 

Shalimar looked dubious as he began to roll up his sleeves. "Come on, Adam. You serious?"

"As a heart attack," he replied with a smile. 

"Get real, Adam," she answered with a laugh and an eye roll. "It's been a long time since you've had to train me. You had to call in another feral in the end." 

"But who do you think taught her?" Adam countered. "What's the matter? Are you scared?"

"No," Shalimar said amused at the man's sudden less than mature behavior. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Oooh," Adam chuckled approaching her again. "Come on, I'll let you be offense." 

Shalimar rolled her eyes again. "Alright, but you asked for it." 

Her right fist ripped through the air at her mentor. The middle-aged man dodged it quickly and the fight began. She circled, punched, and kicked as he dodged and blocked in an elaborate dance across the gym floor. Each move she made, he blocked with intense effort, never advancing offensively on her. 

"You know," Adam began between dodging strikes. "I know why you're so aggressive lately." 

"Oh yeah?" She replied with an attempted kick. "Why?"

"It's your feral instincts coupled with your human ability to hold a--" he grunted as he caught ankle at his chest, "Grudge." 

He throw her foot away from him, pushing her backwards, fighting to regain her balance. "I don't hold grudges." She grunted with a fake smile. 

"You don't trust Jesse because he betrayed your pack. When an animal's been kicked too hard," Adam continued, stopping her left hook with his forearm, "it always thinks twice about its attacker."

"You say it all the time, Adam. I'm not an animal." Shalimar hand snapped to his wrist, allowing a right-handed blow to his stomach. 

Adam winced and stepped backwards. "Nice shot." He coughed. 

"Sorry," She answered, bringing her fists up to her face again, shaking a loose strand of blonde hair out of her sweaty face. 

He smirked and shook his head at her untamed competitiveness. Slowly, Adam stood up straight and beckoned her again with his fingers.

The blows picked up in rhythm, becoming a steady beat of foot steps and grunts. 

"Shalimar, I need you to do me a favor," Adam explained, dodging a kick. 

"No," She answered simply. 

"Just cut Jesse some slack." 

"He doesn't deserve it," Shalimar answered sternly coming across her body with her elbow. "I had too much trust in him." 

Suddenly, Adam sprang at her, seemingly released from the constraints of his age. His foot swept her legs out from beneath her, crumpling her to the ground. He crouched beside her with a disappointed look. "What you're saying is, because he was so close to you, you can't forgive him. Shouldn't it work the other way around?"

Shalimar stared up at the ceiling, eye blank and body suddenly limp from fatigue. Her expression froze in a look of unwilling refusal. Suddenly she spoke, "Why do you always win when I fight you?"

Adam smiled. "Because I know you won't hurt me," He paused. "Just like you won't hurt Jesse." 

Her face contorted into a scowl as her muscles tensed once more. With a swift spin, she was on her feet again, now looking down at Adam. "You're wrong." She turned and left in a storm of hurt and rejection. 

* -Break- *

"Taking a break?"

Jesse looked up from the computer as the middle-aged scientist neared him. "Not really."

"Well, from the lack of typing and clicking, I can only assume you've developed tele-cyber abilities or…." 

Jesse turned toward him, glancing only quickly back at the screen once.

"Actually," he began matter-of-factly, "I'm testing a program."

Adam's brows furrowed. "Which program?"

"Mine. I've created a program to breakdown the Genomex firewalls and encryptions." he explained motioning to his computer.  "It's just something I've been working on."

Jesse turned away as Adam's face grew skeptical. "That's impossible. How could you simulate a human's reasoning abilities in a program that only took a day to build?"

His shoulder shrugged. "Like I said, I'm just testing it." 

The older man studied the screen over Jesse's shoulder. Numbers and codes were flying down the flat surface. Every few seconds a series of numbers or characters would be entered in and the pattern would continue. Only when the code was accepted did the screen image change and only minutely. 

"How long did this take you exactly?"

"Total?" he asked. "About six or seven hours, but that was just today." 

"What do you mean 'just today'?"

"I've been working on my own hacking programs for months now." Jesse smirked at Adam's perplexed face. "You honestly thought I'd stay away from computers after leaving here? Kerry had me working as bartender slash Webmaster of the Up To Zero web page."

 "I take it you had a lot of free time once you mastered those drinks, huh." Adam smiled, thoroughly amused. "You've always had an uncontrollable curiosity at times." He watched the screen again for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright, let me know if it works. Maybe we can start it from various places in the database, make our work much quicker." 

"Will do."

* -Break- * 

"Reminds you of her, doesn't it?" 

Jesse's eyes didn't waver from the motionless body of the unconscious woman. Silently he willed the elemental away. There was something about being alone in the dark lab with his thoughts that seemed so desirable to him. 

He didn't know how long he'd been there, standing, staring at Lila's body, draped in the shadow of the dull blue florescent light. He hadn't thought about it until that moment. His legs felt tired and his muscles were sore. But his mind was unusually clear.

He felt a bond with her, whether it was their similar scientific heritage or the fact that she was the same age as he when his life felt like an overwhelmingly lonely coma. 

Maybe it was neither. 

"That's why you're here, right?" Brennan's voice brought him back to the present. The muscular man stood in the doorway behind him, staring at the object of Jesse's attention. "She reminds you of Emma." 

"I don't want to talk about this, Brennan," Jesse answered monotonously, stepping backwards away from the filled examination chair. 

"Tough," he replied in a strong, quiet voice. "I want to." 

"You know everything." Jesse looked towards his old companion. "What's there to talk about?"

Brennan's face was hardly as he remembered it. It had no charm, no unexplainable magnetism, only a stern worn look of an overworked old man. "The real reason you left."

"I needed a break. You know that." 

"People who need a break don't just up and leave in the middle of the night without any goodbyes." 

"I left a note." 

"We didn't need a note, Jesse." Brennan shot back. "We needed to say goodbye to you. Face to face, the way we almost didn't have with Emma. Why are you telling me this…this bullshit?"

"It's the truth. I don't care if you believe it." Jesse began to walk towards the door. "Just leave it alone, Brennan." 

Brennan's solid body blocked the exit. "It doesn't make sense, Jess."

A familiar frustration rose again in his chest. How could this man stand here and demand something he didn't even know if he had? It called up memories: yelling, screaming, pushing, threats…and tears.

"What do you want me to say?!" Jesse exploded, advancing on Brennan like a fighter, shouting through the eerie still of the room. "Huh?! I hate everyone here?! I was crazy?! I had a mental break down?!" He stepped back. His voice lowered, but his fury still manifested. "I couldn't take it anymore! I can't just block things out, Brennan! I don't care how impervious my body is! I can't just forget things and keep them from getting into my head!" 

He looked back at Lila. Still silence, still sleeping…

"Dammit!" he mumbled to himself at his own outburst. "Just leave me alone." 

* -Break- *

_A flash…_

_And it was over._

_A small red sphere of light disappeared into her skin, grazing the ear. Her eyes rolled back. Her thin framed body gave out, crumpling to the ground like a rag doll, the invisible puppet string of her life cut with a malicious flash of light. _

_He ran to her, time slowing so that seconds felt like hours, minutes were days, and hours were lifetimes. He called her name over and over, at first at a strong panic but with each syllable fading to a vague whisper. In his mind, there was no fight. The men dressed in full black diminished into the background, leaving only her gradually fading consciousness._

_"Hold on," he whispered to her as he hugged her limp upper body to his chest, pushing the strand of hair out of her pale face. Her breathing smoothed over the seconds, like a long final breath. His heart pounded and stomach receded into his throat with fear. _

_A final plea of desperation…_

_"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."_


	9. Chapter 9: Isolation

A/N- For all those that didn't know, actor Jesse Nilsson (Gabe on _Adventure Inc._ and the non-Justin Timberlake lead on _Model Behavior_) died of heart failure on Saturday, April 26, 2003. I didn't find this out until recently and it shocked the hell out of me. I'm dedicating this to his memory because he inspired the story of my character, Donovan (who makes his first appearance in the next chapter). If you read this, say a pray for his family and go tell someone you love them.

On a happier note, pack up the babies and grab the old ladies! Part 9! Writer's block is a bitch….by the way, the language gets stronger in this part, you have been warned…Hey, you know what? My beta, vega, could totally beat up your beta….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     

Kerry's boots made a satisfactory, agitated series of taps along the hard floor. Sanctuary, as they called it, was far too quiet and too large to be alone. Though she'd felt this way for more years than most people, she didn't like being alone. That was why the noise was a small comfort. It reminded her that she was with herself in a way, and that all she needed was herself. 

Then again, she wondered if that was enough. She had been able to survive alone before, but she had been different then. Now she had limits. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had new morals, and even some things to lose. Before, she'd been inexperienced, moving in heated anger, living from moment to moment, only stopping long enough to keep up with what she saw as a temporary life. In breaking from this wilder spirit, she'd bet everything on a last game of cat-and-mouse, flipping everything on its head.  

The break-in spun her world even more. For the first time, a real, painfully appropriate fear had entered the equation. If she had been there when they came for her, her odds of winning alone were slim to none. She would have needed someone to have her back, someone powerful, and someone she trusted. She would have needed Mickey. 

Her chest tense as the thought crossed her mind. It annoyed her no end that she'd become dependent on someone she couldn't bear to look at…

…and not because his sins against her were too great…

…but because her sins made him a candidate for sainthood…

 "Ah, Kerry," Adam's voice called out. He rounded the computer desk to make his way towards her. "I wanted to talk with you."

She hadn't even noticed the older man in the large brightly lit room. The brunette's face took a momentary look of surprise, then quickly suppressed back to her usual scowl, hoping her weakness wasn't evident on her face. She shook her head, increasing the frequency of the taps. "I don't want to hear it, Adam." 

"Kerry, I know you feel that I'm responsible for Shanda's death--" 

Kerry stopped and stared with fiery hatred. "No, Adam!" she spat, "You're not allowed to say her name! You haven't earned it." 

The scientist sighed. "Kerry, your foster mother was very important to me. You have to understand that her death didn't only affect you." 

"My mother, Adam. To me, she was my mother. Don't say it like I give a damn about my real parents." She shook her head in disgusted disappointment. "You know, she talked you up all my life. 'Adam Kane's a miracle worker.' 'Adam's my guardian angel.' Hell, you were God to her, but you're just the son of a bitch that sent her to die." Her voice cracked and her hand covered her mouth before she began again. "My mother, Adam…it was your mission. It was your plan. But then again, I hear screwing up someone's life is just another day at the office for Adam Kane, miracle worker and death warden." 

The last words hung in the air, frozen in cold cruelty. He stood still for a minute and she could tell he was fighting the urge to strike out at her. There was a frozen tingle where guilt fought to surface. She ignored it and turned away, returning to her comforting steps. 

There was a hand on her arm, gentle, trying to both subdue her and gain her attention, both of which she resented.  

She turned and stared him hard in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do that, knowing what I can do?"

His grip fell as a strange grief filled his wrinkle enclosed eyes. Kerry turned away with only minimal acknowledgement, satisfied only in her own venting, simmering in her own sorrow and rage. 

* Break *

_The faint and raucous rock music couldn't break the mellow atmosphere of the nearly empty club. Most of the patrons were sitting at the long bar that in its glory days would have fit around twenty._

_He sat closest to the restrooms, in the stool directly across the dance-floor from the entrance, next to the glasses rack against the wall that separated the small bathroom hallway from the open room. With his head down, he rolled his empty glass around in the ring of water left on the wooden surface. His thought consumed him. His eyes hazed over, staring beyond the fluid movement of the transparent cylinder in front of him. His broad shoulders were hunched over in the position of a man who had a world of unwanted consciousness on his back. One could almost feel the pain of the weight with each breath he took. _

_The hinges of the back door creaked before it slammed violently against the wooded shelves placed too close to the frame. _

_"You can't fire me!" The scream came from a tall, muscular Italian, who stalked angrily after the equally irate woman who preceded him into the open room. _

_"Can and did, Tony," she turned to answer, shooting a steel piercing look in his direction. "Now, get the hell out off my property."_

_Feeling that his masculinity was threatened, Tony stepped in front of her, cornering her against the racks of alcohol. "You think you scare me, bitch?" He leaned closer to her in an attempt to use his size as intimidation. "Huh, you think you scare me? I got news for you…" _

_Muscles twitching, his hand gripped her throat, expecting something more than the anger to remain in her eyes. Instead, she stared the man in his brown aggressive eyes, grabbing at his hand, watching his face contort into pain as the finger flesh and bones smashed into each other under her own impressive clench. _

_Tony's hand recoiled from her throat. In a fluid turnaround, she clasped his neck in her no-longer weak-looking hands. Her teeth clenched in rage as a look of shock and pain spread across the Italian's visage. _

_"With the night I'm having, Tony," she began calmly in a boarder-line patronizing voice. She made a point to talk over the coarse, panicked choking noise. "Stuff like that can get you killed. Now, you're a smart boy. You had to be to steal from me for so long. So I know that you know, if you want to continue breathing, you'll leave, NOW!" The tension in her hand disappeared for a moment. Suddenly it constricted once more. _

_With her face inches from his, she spat softly, "Oh, and Tony, I not only scare you…I fester in your nightmares. You better pray you never see me again."_

_After a parting thrust against the bar, she let go of the broken man. He stumbled out from behind the closed-in serving area and made his way to the door. _

_He only looked back once, long enough to shout back, "Fuck you, Kerry!" _

_All the customers were watching with intense interest as she growled in caged up fury. Even he looked up from the end of the bar. The harsh look in her eyes exposed a truer, less composed nature. _

_He knew she had really wanted to kick Tony's ass up and down the dead, __midnight__ tinted street. _

_Her hand reached to her pocket with a familiar cat-like quickness. It drew out a shaking black pager. A single glance at the message and she closed her fist around the smooth plastic. _

_The fire in her eyes flared again. "I said I'd take care of it!" she screamed and threw it against the far wall. The small, lumpy, misshapen piece of plastic traveled like ball lightening through the air, catching the corner of his glass, and bounced against the rack. His empty beer glass shattered in his hand. _

_She stared at him for a moment registering the damage and then stormed towards him, a tapping noise coming from below the bar._

_"Sorry," she muttered through her teeth as she reached up for a new glass. _

_Only a split second before, he saw the shine over her skin. _

_ A crack split the air and a shower of tiny glass pieces rained down him. He jumped back instinctively. _

_Another crack…then another…Each time she reached for a new tumbler, it disintegrated into tiny bits around her hands. _

_A look of horror and fear plastered itself across her face. Her eyes widened as her breathing quickened; her hands stiff in front of her. _

_Something shifted in his brain. _

_"Take a deep breath." He heard himself whisper. "Get mental control." _

_She looked at him with a cross of disbelief and intrigue. Slowly, she inhaled long and hard, and then freed the air from her lungs.  _

_"Close your eyes. Picture it leaving your hands like normal." _

_Her eyelids consumed her eyes. Her breathing continued to slow. _

_"Good." Gradually, he reached out towards her extended hands. In a strange act of blind faith, he touched the skin on her palm. Her eyes snapped open in complete shock. She snatched her hand away, still taken aback._

_"Wha...?" she stuttered. "How?"_

_"I'll get you, bitch!"_

_The sound of the door opening pounded through the open room. The maniacal smile on the Italian features said everything it needed too. _

_The small silver pistol in his hand said more. _

_She gasped. _

_Tony cocked the gun. _

_He jumped onto the bar._

_Tony smiled. He pulled the trigger. _

_Jesse inhaled tightly. He heard the multiple bullets hit his body and mold over onto themselves. _

_The empty barrel clicking melded with the sound of metal falling to the floor. _

_The only thing that crossed his mind was that she was okay._

~*~

"Jess?"

Jesse suddenly looked toward the door. The memory vanished from his mind, leaving only a vague every present outline. "Hmm?"

"You awake?" Emma asked, eyebrows furrowed in an expression of concern and discomfort. "I just called your name about three times."

"Yeah," he answered, looking back at the computer with a tired gaze. "Just got lost in thought."

"And how's the program working?"

            Jesse grinned through his fingers, his hands laced around his mouth in boredom. He looked away from the captivating screen and finally lifted his chin finally from his palm. "News certainly does travel fast around here." 

"Considering that there're only six of us here," Emma replied, crossing the room with a painful grimace on her face, "Yeah, I'd say so."  While one hand rubbed her temple, the other slid across his shoulder blades and dangled beside his neck. "So explain to me what's happening."

"I'm watching a giant firewall being broken down."

 "How long will it take?"

            He sighed. "Well, normally, only a few minutes at the most, but this one is like firewalls wrapped encryptions wrapped firewalls. My first hypothesis was twenty minutes, but that was about an hour ago." His eye glanced up at her, finally noticing the hurt look on her face. "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah," the telempath answered with a cringe. "I just need to find Adam. I'll be okay." 

            "Headache?"

            Emma grunted a positive response. "More like migraine from hell." She removed her arm from his shoulder and stepped back to turn away. "I'm gonna go get Ad─"

            Her slim body fell with a thud to the ground. 

A bolt of panic slammed through his body as Jesse jumped from his chair to her side. "Emma? Emma!" 

            Her muscles violently spasmed into convulsions. Her face continued her pain look, but turned even more grotesque as the features twisted and turned in sharp contractions.

            "Adam!" he screamed with all the power in his lungs. "Oh my God! ADAM!"

            When the footsteps thundered down the hall, Jesse's voice was about to leave him completely. His arms tingled as he saw the scientist and feral at the door. 

            "Emma!" Shalimar cried as they race to her. Quickly, she thrust the nearest chair away and began to move any furniture close by. Adam knelt beside the shaking woman across from Jesse. Gingerly, he pulled back her closed eyelids to see her eyes rolled back into her head. 

"I think she's going into shock," he shouted. "Shalimar, go to the lab. Get a cylinder from the drawer of my desk." 

Shalimar looked at him, eyes wide in fear, but brows furrowed in determination.

"Go! Quickly!"

She sprinted from the room at her naturally unnatural speed. 

"Come on, Emma. Come on."  
            As Adam shouted encouragement at the ailing woman, Jesse studied his face. Something in it put him off. He recognized the fear and worry. He'd seen it many times on many faces. Now, though, on this man's face, something felt different. He caught a glance in the metal of the computer desk. His own face was covered in horror and concern…and surprise. Adam's face lacked any sort of shock. In fact, there were hints of acknowledgment.

"Adam," Jesse said quickly. "What's wrong with her?"

The question fell in the air before it could be answered, just as another shadow extended from the doorway. 

"Emma! Oh my God!" Brennan's eyes grew in more fear than either Shalimar or Adam had shown. He bounded with his large stride a few steps, fell to the floor, and slid to her side. "Move!" he shoved Jesse forcefully to the side and quickly took over his position. "How far gone is she?"

"It's barely been five minutes. There's hope, but the window is closing. Shalimar!"

"I can't find it, Adam!" Her voice traveled over the comlink system thick with frustration and panic. 

"Dammit! Brennan, keep talking to her!" Adam screamed and took off in the direction of his lab. 

"Brennan, what's happening?" Jesse asked again, regaining his balance. 

"Come on, Emma!" Brennan whispered to the shaking body. "Fight it! You're stronger than this!"

"Brennan!" Jesse screamed in frustration. "Answer me!" 

Adam reappeared at the door, followed by Shalimar, carrying a silver cylinder. 

"An injector?" Jesse cried in confusion. 

"Hold her down," Adam commanded. 

Shalimar covered the floor and knelt beside her. Her eyes met Brennan's. "You get that side." 

The two each grabbed an arm and held on tight to restrain it to the floor. Violently, Emma resisted, flailing hard enough for bruises to form. 

"You're hurting her!" Jesse screamed, horrified at the display. He reached for Brennan's arm. 

The elemental look at him sternly, and released one of his hands. Blue sparks crackled at the finger tips. "Get back," he seethed. 

Adam knelt next to Shalimar. He pointed the tip towards Emma's arm. "Hold her still." 

"I'm trying," the feral gasped. "Brennan!" 

He smothered the electricity and turned back to the scene. Leaning his body over Emma, he held her left arm above and below Shalimar's grip. 

"One, two, three." Adam counted and slammed his thumb on the release button. Within seconds, the tremors died down. The feral and elemental let her arm go. All watched quietly. 

Little by little, the tremors stopped. Her muscles settled limp against the floor, and for a moment, were almost peaceful. 

Her fists suddenly clenched. The peace turned to writhing, her body rolling back and forth on the hard ground. Her mouth was the first to open again, and screams began to spout. The first loud, blood-cur tiling grew into a low moan and sob. 

"Brennan," Emma sobbed, eyes opening into watering slits. 

"I'm here," he answered, reaching out and touching her face. 

"Brennan, take her to the lab." Adam sighed with a relieved smile. "I want to check for injuries." 

He nodded, gingerly slipping his arms under her body and lifting her and himself to his feet. 

Shalimar stood, too. The relief on her face intermixed with an every present worry. She followed at the group left the room, leaving Jesse on the floor, more alone than he'd felt in years.

* -Break- *


	10. Chapter 10: Secrets Revealed

A/N- Ten chapters! Double digits for the first time! I'm so excited. It's longer than most parts too! Warning: Brief Adam and Brennan bashing. Actually, the Brennan bashing is pretty funny, but I'm a hardcore Jesse fan, so whatever. So…um…I'm out of things to say…Like just about every part before, vega rocks! R/R is you want…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            He sat alone at the desk in the middle of the pitch black room. The light from his solitary lamp cast eerie shadows off his metal bookcases and large storing cabinet. His long reclined figure even made a dark shadow along the cold ground. 

His feet were rested gently on the desk's surface. His lazy posture fell back into his leather desk chair with his eyes staring at the darkness. His hands were folded in front of him, fingers interlace with each other, resting on his stomach. 

His face, though laced with darkness, was vaguely lit with the lamp light that was enough to make out his features. They were touched with youth, traced with a reminiscent softness of adolescents. His dark eyes held a low sparkle and his thin lips gave the impression of many smiles, though now held a tight line. His wavy dark brown hair curved around his ears in the style of apathetic teenager.  

Though barely twenty, he had left his childhood long ago. He'd traded the broken fragments of it for a life of money and, more importantly, power. 

The office door creaked open.

"Report," the young man called out without a blink. 

Bart cleared his throat. "We've improved the 24 hour security by 30 percent. The captive-guard ratio is 1 to 3. The perimeter guards parole every four minutes and the area guard squad is--"

"Fine," he interrupted impatiently. Security stats were the last thing he wanted to know about. "What about progress with Black Barrier?"

He could hear Bart shifting nervously. "Up to Zero has been closed for 24 hours. Her loft was completely empty. She's vanished off our radar; so has her partner." 

He remained silent in the darkness, silence to create tension. 

Tension causes anxiety.

Anxiety causes fear.

Fear means control. 

He learned that early on in climbing the clichéd ladder to the top. He'd also learned also that fear was his gift. 

The second-in-command cleared his throat again, vainly trying to regain some control. "Donovan, there's no reason why we need so much manpower on finding Black Barrier. She's scared and I bel---" 

Flash.

A missile of heat whipped through the air past Bart's ear, hitting the wall behind him and falling on the ground with a soft thud. Bart turned, quickly masking his surprise and terror, to watch the lit jagged disc of paper fizzle into a small smoking cinder. 

"Your job is not to question me," the young man, Donovan, hissed, "and if you ever call me *that* again, I won't miss."

"I apologize." Bart whispered, looking solemnly back at his superior. 

"You'd better be. Dismissed."

*- Break -*

_Lies_

_A gray tombstone with wilted violets lying across the name_

_A woman with long red hair_

_A large, empty, and cold bedroom…_

_Anger_

_The black van with no tags_

_A cold metal gun_

_Looking over the barrel _

_A dark room_

_A man's shouting_

_A woman's screams_

_A child's tears…_

_Guilt_

_Shame_

_A warm smile_

_Long passionate kisses_

_Dancing around with bright flashing lights_

_Skin…_

_Longing_

_Smashed wood on linoleum_

_Candle wax, first a wet liquid then dried to a solid puddle_

_A black van with no license plates, outside in an alley, it raced down an empty street_

_Gun shots punctuating the air_

_Scorching, engulfing flames licking at her legs and arms…_

"Fire!"

Emma jolted up right in her own bed. Sweat beaded on her skin and rolled down her body. 

Frightened beyond measure, her eyes darted around her suddenly freezing bedroom. All her possessions were shaded in the cold shades of blue and gray that the darkness cast. Nowhere was there even a glimmer of red or orange. Not even the faintest yellow. 

Her pulse began to slow. She fell back into her pillows and gave a sigh of relief. She was safe. 

Then it dawned on her.

She wasn't afraid of fire. 

She'd been picking up other dream emotions while she slept. 

The telempath rubbed her forehead in frustration. It had been taken months to build the certain barriers that protected her slumber and, because of her recent episode, she must have taken many steps backward in her progress. 

Difficult, painful steps at that.

The entire situation made her want to cry in aggravation. Many times she believed she wasn't strong enough to continue her rehabilitation. Her powers grew steadily and losing all her ability to control them had set her back… 

Over twenty years back…

And all she could do was take baby step after baby step, hoping and praying that one day she'd break through… 

Or that maybe Adam would find something to help her.

She shifted onto her side and bunched the pillow up under her head. Absently, she stared at the wall. 

Her mind drifted back into her own memories. She thought of before. She thought of the first time she saw the Sanctuary. She remembered the thousand questions that pounded her brain. She remembered the confusion. She remembered the relief. She remembered the warm feeling of finding a home. Here and now, she could almost feel the happiness she had in having a place in the world, a place in a team, a place in a real family… 

She remembered using her powers with ease. She remembered helping people with them. She remembered being able to work in the field without concerned looks and voices at every step. She remembered being allowed out of the mountain for things other than missions. She remembered a time when she was allowed to lock her bedroom door and sit in silence, when she wasn't being monitored constantly. She remembered when she could operate without the headaches and shots and the goddamn EDD…

Her fist clenched around the end of her pillow. A single frustrated tear slid down her cheek to the fabric below. 

It was so cruel.

It was so unfair. 

* -Break- *

_"It's not much," Kerry said pushing open the metal door into the cool air of the converted warehouse apartment. "But it's home."_

_Jesse stepped in cautiously behind her, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. Kerry shifted nervously as he took in the narrow hallway. He reached out and touched the wooden table, then the wallpaper. He turned toward her and tried to smile. _

_"It's fine." _

_She nodded and touched his arm to lead him down the corridor. "Are you hungry or something?"_

_The thought of food with the ever-present lump of guilt in his abdomen made his stomach groan in nausea, but, rather than openly decline the generous offer, he kept his silence. After a second of waiting in vain for an answer, Kerry spoke again. _

_"I guess you're tired. All the other New Mutants I've met are usually tired after using their powers." _

_They came to a large open room with an antique bed at the far side. She separated from him to flip the light switch. An unproductive click resonated in the quiet. _

_"Damn .The power goes out like this sometimes, when money's tight."_

_"Whatever," he replied hoarsely. _

_"So," Kerry continued. "That is what you are, right? A New Mutant?"_

_"Yeah."_

_She nodded. "A Molecular?"_

_"Yeah.," _

_"Me, too."_

_The stood facing each other in an awkward silence, only truly being able to see each other because of the moonlight streaming in the window. _

_She sighed sharply to break the silence and walked across the floor to her dresser against the wall. Her boots made a soft tapping against the concrete. She began to fiddle with the assortment of clothes draped over the wood surface and mirror. "So, um, did I thank you for jumping in front of me like that?"_

_"I assumed you were by giving me a place to sleep tonight." _

_She looked up at his sudden lack of monosyllabic answers. "Yeah, and hey, if you need some money-"_

_"I don't want your money."_

_"Well, at least let me give you a job or something."_

_He didn't answer. His brain felt too numb to weigh the decision of the offer. Sleep seemed like a better idea for a next move; unfortunately, he didn't feel overly fatigued. _

_"You can think about it." She must have sensed his indecision. "And you can have the bed, if you're tired. You never said if you were."_

_"I'm not."_

_Kerry raised her eyebrows up and then down as if she were internally dialoguing about his unwillingness to make the moment comfortable.  "Well, when you are..."_

_Another silence._

_"Listen," she began, suddenly frustrated and slightly angry at herself. "I have to ask you a question. Why the hell did you do it?"_

_He tried to hold back a confused look, but failed. _

_"I mean, talking me down…jumping in front of me…saving my life, 'cause trust me, mister, A). I can handle myself and B). I'm not exactly what you would want to save."_

_He stared at her quietly, hoping his silent answer would work again. Her eyes made him bet against it. _

_"And don't try you're little non-answering thing. This has been bugging me for hours."_

_Slowly, Jesse shrugged. "I guess, I did it because…"_

_Because it's what I do.__ It was on the tip of his tongue, but it was caught there. It wasn't really what he did anymore. He'd sworn to himself only hours ago that that was the end, but he had done it anyway. It was instinct that made him do it. It was that instinct that he had always had. It was apart of him, but he didn't want to be that guy anymore. _

_"..I don't know" he choked out. "It seemed right at the time." _

_Kerry nodded in acceptance of his answer. "Alright, but can I ask you another question?"_

_No answer._

_"What's up with you?" Suddenly realizing how odd her statement was, she then began again, "I mean, you look like you haven't slept in days and you tell me you're not tired. I know it's dark in here, but you look like you've been through hell and back, and all of you didn't quite make it." _

_He looked down at the floor and fought to keep her words out of his head. They were honest and truer than she would ever realize. He knew dwelling on them could penetrate the defensive numbness and he wasn't prepared for that flood yet. _

_"Hey," Kerry said quickly. "Are you okay?"_

_He looked up, trying to force the water back in his eyes. _

_Her eyes grew wide in surprise and she opened her mouth to speak. "Look, it's my fault. Let's…let's start with something easier. Um…My name's Kerry, Kerry Parcell. What's yours?"_

_He stared for a moment, trying to keep a deer-in-headlights look off his face while his head spun. A name…any name…_

_"Mickey," he answered. He coughed to pull the emotions back. "Mickey Rawlings."_

_"Mickey," she whispered. "Nice to meet you." _

* - Break - *

 The bright scrolling numbers rolled down in front of his eyes. Jesse squinted his eyes in concentration as he typed in an altered code on a window next to that of the numerals. He leaned back in his chair and used the cursor to reread over the program. With an apathetic tap, he reran his work on the database.

The quiet was getting to him, as much as he tried to focus. The calm had given his mind too much room to roam past his current task. Desperately, he forced himself not to think about her. He didn't need the added stress of the people around him. 

"Adam wants to know if you're any closer."

The voice made Jesse's muscle tense in anger. "Tell Adam I'm barely a third of the way into the file and I'm doing the best that I can."

"Really?" Brennan answered cynically. "The best you can?"

Jesse turned in extreme annoyance. "You wanna try, muscle boy? 'Cause last I saw, you didn't know a spell check from a complier, but if you think you're more qualified, by all means, take a shot. If not, let me get back to this, so I can find you a lead and get out of your life." 

Brennan stared calmly at him. "Is that your plan? To leave when you're done?"

"I don't think I have much of a choice, do I?"

"But if you did, would you stay?"

Jesse turned back to the blinking screen, voice simmering in sarcasm. "And rejoin this noble team that helps New Mutants lead so-called 'normal' lives? Do you ever get tired of Adam's spew?" 

"You don't believe that." 

"So what if I do? So what if don't? That's not your problem."

Brennan's face morphed into mild disbelief. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," The molecular shot back. "Alright, nothing. If you're done here, go back to your shirtless weight-lifting in the mirror." 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Brennan bit back offense at the sardonic remark. "It's about Emma, isn't it?" 

"So what if it is? You've made it perfectly clear that all I'm here for is to crack this code. It's not a social call." 

"What? When did I say that?" Brennan cried, pausing a second to release a short punctuated sigh of incredulity. "Jess, you know that as an ex-team member you can't know everything that's going on--"

"But as Emma's friend," Jesse tuned to stare his former companion blatantly in the eye. "I deserve to know why the one person that's been civil to me is suddenly going into seizures! God, Brennan, it scared the hell out of me!" 

Brennan's tall stance shrunk under Jesse's gaze, but his own stare didn't waver. It held still with strength of a man not willing to admit to emotional tactics.

"I need to know, Brennan," he said again. "If there is any part of you that's still my friend, you'll tell me." 

The stare broke. Brennan rubbed his deep brown eyes with his large palm and reached for the chair beside the man at the computer. 

"Fine, but it's not exactly easy to go through again," he explained with a deep sigh. As he settled into his seat, Jesse's face bent into a serious expression ready for knowledge. "It started with the coma. Six months after you left, Adam's twenty-hours-a-day research vigils had a break through." Brennan bent over the desk and leaned over on his elbows to cross his arms over his biceps. 

"It seemed like a miracle. She was so full of life after what could have been her death. It was the first happy thing in a really long period of grief. It felt like a second chance.

"Then reality set in. Emma had lost all control of her powers. She started having these massive headaches. A week after they started, she went into a seizure and only survived because she accidentally knocked herself unconscious. Adam found out that it was a side effect of the Psionic's power that put her in the coma. When her brain gets overworked, it tries to shut down. The headaches are the warning signs. When a seizure starts, she has ten to fifteen minutes before she's dead."

"And the injector cures it?" Jesse interrupted.

"Well, Adam, of course, worked 'round the clock to find something to keep her alive. He made this temporary solution thing that shocks her brain into functioning, except when it shocks her brain, it shocks her nerves and causes a lot of pain. He mixed a pain reliever in but it can't kick in for a minute or two."

Brennan stopped talking suddenly and rested his head on his arms. Jesse watched with a strange interest as the man he'd always seen as a warrior battled his own emotions. He brought his head up and placed his chin in his hand as his elbow balanced on the desk surface. The molecular fought the urge to try and catch a glimpse of Brennan's face which he had turned away from him. 

"I made a promise," he resumed abruptly, turning back to Jesse, only a hint of tears in his eyes. "I made a promise to myself when I met her. I swore that I'd protect her, and she almost died." 

"I know." Jesse whispered. "You told me…a long time ago." 

 "I'm making up for it now," he replied in a forced cheerful tone. "I swore I'd protect her and I am."

"Better late than never," Jesse answered with a smile.

Brennan nodded. "Yeah. Listen, sorry about the way I treated you, you know. I was just as scared as you." 

Jesse shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man."

Brennan chuckled as more footsteps came to the door. A cough drew both their attentions to the door.

""Scuse me" Kerry said forcefully. "Can I speak to…" her voice trailed off in a suddenly indecision, "him" she concluded, "for a minute?"

 Brennan slid off his chair, hoisting himself up with his large arms. "Sure." 

She watched with a firm, serious gaze, generally lacking in her usual attitude. When he was out of sight, she made the slow walk to Jesse's side, then sat in Brennan's chair. Her back slouched over as she dangled her arms between her knees, resting her elbows on her thighs. The overall weakness of position made him both curious and worried. 

"I thought you left." 

"I did." 

He hesitated. "And now you're back?" 

"It appears that way." She looked up for only a second with a sarcastic smirk. 

"Why?"

She fell silent and began to rub her forehead with her hands, gradually working her way over her sinuses. "I'm not safe out there, Mick." Her eyes met his at the sound of his old name. Some unnoticed discomfort in his stomach settled. "They're still out there and…"

"What?" He interrupted suddenly, concern now the dominant tone. "What happened?"

"They found the loft," she whispered. "They found the warehouse." 

His eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"They found it and trashed it and I'm not safe out there," she repeated aggressively. 

"You can't go back there." 

"Yah think?" Kerry cried. Her voice settled again. "I called Adam and he said I could lie low here."

"You mean you told him?"

"No, I'm here strictly on a don't-ask-don't-tell basis. That man wants back in my good graces so bad…" 

"What are you going to do?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." 

Jesse snorted and looked back to the computer. "What make you think I can help you?"

"Are you kidding, Mick?" Kerry answered, touching his shoulder to regain his attention. "You've saved my ass more times than I have. You've got to be the smartest person I know, especially in these situations. Please, Mickey? I need you." 

Jesse looked back at her, scanning her from toes to head, resting on her face. She was serious. Anything less would have shown in her fingers tapping. The muscles along her body were tensed. Her eyes even pleaded with him. This was a side of her he'd seen before and knew she wanted to suppress. It was the side of her that made her human. 

"Can I get that in writing?"

She rolled her eyes at his attempt at humor. "Is that a yes?"

He nodded. "If you forgive me..."

Kerry smiled. "It's already forgotten." 

*~ Break ~* 

"Emma," Shalimar started in surprise, pushing her headphones off her ears. "I thought you were sleeping." 

The telempath shrugged as she gracefully walked away from the doorframe. "I was." 

"You should go back to bed." Shalimar replied in an overly motherly voice. "The seizures take a lot out of you." 

Emma sat on the bed at the woman's feet, holding back the anger the words stirred up. Ignoring them, she interrupted, "I have to ask you a question." 

"Em…"

"Why?" She began pulling her legs onto Shalimar's sheets and crossing them Indian style.  

"Why what?"

"Why is this happening?" Emma retorted. "Why is Jesse suddenly an outsider? Why is this whole place so emotionally charged now that he's back? Why does everyone seem to know but me?"

Shalimar sighed. "It's not an easy answer, Emma."

"Then let's start someplace easy. Why did Jesse leave?"

"You'll have to ask him." 

"Bull." Emma shot back. "You can't lie to me, Shal." 

"Emma…" She whispered unwillingly. 

"Then why do you hate him so much?"

"Emma!"

"Stop shielding me, Shalimar." Emma replied obstinately. "For once, tell me something straight." 

"We had a fight! Alright?" 

"About me?"

"No," Shalimar automatically answered. "Well, you did come up, but that's not why it got heated." 

The feral fell silence with a strange air of guilt and anger. "It was his fault. No, it was both of our faults. Adam told me that he had decided to leave and I got…just…pissed. I confronted him and he just said…all these…hurtful things. It didn't even feel like Jesse…."

_"How can you do this? How can you just abandon your friends, the people that care about you the most? How can you just leave me, and Brennan, and Adam--"_

_"I don't give a damn about Adam! He put her were she is!"_

_"Don't say that!"_

_"Why? It's true." _

_"Adam's saved your ass more times than you can count. You're like a son to him."_

_"No! I'm a follower. Don't you see it, Shalimar? He got us trapped here, doing HIS work to ease HIS conscious. We're in the war. We fight in the trenches and he sits safely in Sanctuary, while we're the ones in danger."_

_"You know he'd be there if he could." _

_"Would he? You are so oblivious to everything!"_

_"At least I'm not crazy!"_

_"Well, if he's such a saint, Shalimar, tell me, how many relatives do you have? How many good friends do you have outside of Mutant X? Boyfriends? Anything? We need him, Shalimar. We're so dependent of him, I'm surprised we can breathe on our own." _

_"You're wrong, Jesse! It's our choice to fight! It's our privilege and our decision!"_

_"Then I've changed my mind." _

_"Fine!__ But don't you ever even think about coming back!"_


	11. Chapter 11: Kidnapping and Cracking the ...

A/N- Holy expletive, Batman! What? A new chapter of Up To Zero? Is it true? Yes, it is, and believe me when I say, I'm friggin' psyched. Much thanks to everyone who emailed and reviewed after the last chapter and slowly but surely motivated me to keep working, despite my misgivings with the current Mutant X season. Needless to say, I was very happy (read: crushed) by the way they tossed Emma (and Lauren) to the wayside like that (not to mention Season 2 as a whole). I did decide to stop watching. That was my choice. However, I have some loyal fans on ff.net who will never let me get away, and in a way, I thank all of them for that. Maybe, I'll start watching again. (I will admit though that I saw the episode with Brennan and Jesse vs. the computer game. I was a little upset that Forbes never took off his shirt. I was so hopeful…) Also, please bear with me if you see any mistakes, continuity, grammatical, or series-wise. I a). may have forgotten little details that happened at the beginning of the story, b). didn't get to have this beta read, c). have definitely forgotten a lot about the series in my time away. So anyway, on with the reading. Reviewing = fun.

PS: If vega is reading this, email me. 

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He was still awake. 

No, not awake. Only seemingly so. He'd fallen asleep at the computer, head propped up in the palm of his hand, watching the code drip down the screen. 

In a way, it didn't surprise him. Ever since he was a little boy, Jesse had always been very diligent in his problem solving. It had been the quality Adam had most praised him for. It was in that way that the young boy had taken after him. 

Even now as the older man watched him, he could see him in his mind at the ages of thirteen, eighteen, and twenty working on the same equipment with the same intense look and air. From afar, he examined the man as he would a specimen. 

The changes in six months were astounding. He seemed to have aged years in his time away, perhaps making up for the years he'd spent in extended innocence. He'd kept up his training, which surprise Adam the most. His muscles were larger and stronger. His hair and face remained the same with exception of his once golden hair had turned more brown and dark. 

From their conversations, he knew that Jesse had grown emotionally in his time away. He spoke his mind. He carried himself with confidence. He thought ahead even more so than before. He seemed comfortable in his new persona. 

One painful thought came to Adam's mind as he took his first steps toward the computer and the man working it. Jesse had gain something that Adam couldn't have given him. He'd passed a trial by fire, one that Adam had never expected. He had underestimated what he had thought of as a boy, but was man, and now that Jesse found his identity as such, Adam realized, he'd held the molecular back. He had obstructed his growth. Jesse had been better off without him. 

Before he could delve too deeply into the idea, he was at Jesse's station with a hand on his shoulder. "Jesse,"

The twenty-something lifted his head sleepily and moaned in answer. 

"You should go to bed. You've been working all day."

Jesse rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, wiping the dried bits off his eyelids. He slowly straightened in his chair. "God, what time is it?"

"Almost one in morning. You can come back and work more once you've had some sleep."

"Yeah," He answered blinking his tired eyes. "Let me just shut…" 

His body froze as his voice halted. Intently, he stared at the screen. His hand reached out and scrolled down the page, viewing the decoded files. 

"It finished," he stated, confused and surprised. 

Adam smiled and patted Jesse's shoulder as he leaned in closer. "Let's see what we have." 

With lightening quickness, Jesse clicked through the files, scanning each page. "They look like emails..." 

"…From Eckhart," Adam finished, "to someone named 'Ember.'" 

"Never heard of him"

"Me neither, but it looks like Eckhart was ordering New Mutants from him."

"Yeah, a Botanical Molecular, a Chemical Elemental, and a Telempath." Jesse read from an open document. "Think this is our guy?"

"Possibly." Adam answered. "Are there anymore documents besides these emails?"

"Just one." Jesse clicked the final file open. 

Adam scanned the tables up on the screen and nodded. "Supply records. Read this."

Jesse examined where he was pointing to. "A shipment of governors with no location specified..." 

"…Hidden in a heavily guarded folder with emails to 'Ember'." Adam finished. 

"Bingo." Jesse replied, tapping the mouse to copy the files over to the Sanctuary's memory. "So, now what?"

"Now, we track the emails to their system. From there, we gather as much information as we can and make a concrete plan." 

"So my work here isn't done?"

Adam shook his hand and patted his shoulder. "Not by a long shot, but for now, go get some rest."

* ~Break~ *

Emma's long, cloth pajama pants swished silently as she walked into the Sanctuary kitchen. Her arms wrapped themselves her slender and frail torso, hugging herself to keep her shoulders warm under the thin straps of her tank top. She looked around the room with sleepy eyes. After a quick scratch to the dry skin on her arm, she made her way to the table and pulled out a chair for her to sit. Without even thinking, the telempath propped her head up in her palm, leaning onto the cool metallic table with her elbow and closed her tired eye. 

Sleep had barely come the night before. After her talk with Shalimar, her mind had been sent onto a strange, confused buzz. What the feral had explained didn't feel real to her. She'd never sensed anything but love from Jesse towards Adam. The fight, his words, his actions, none of it seemed like the Jesse she knew, but lying wasn't like Shalimar either. The pain in her eyes and body language had seemed too real. 

Emma slid her hand over her eyes. Since the seizure, her instinctual barriers had been made harder to erect. She couldn't have risked trying to read the feral. Letting it slip slightly would have cause a flood of all the emotions in a fifty mile radius to come crashing into her brain. It'd happened before. It hadn't been pleasant. 

She knew the drill. She was only allowed to use her powers during training with Adam. 

It was like her arm was tied behind her back. Life was more complicated. She had to guess at feelings and emotions, and things like faith in people was not one of her strengths. 

But then, she'd done it so long, she should have been used to it by now. 

"Morning, Em," Brennan said with a bright, awake smile. He was already dressed, hair still slightly damp from the shower, hand hanging limp at the end of his sling. "Sleep well?"

"Not really," she replied, trying to smile, "but I'll get over it." 

"Oh," he answered. The smile disappeared off his face. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing new," Emma answered as the elemental took the seat next to her, "same old, constant questioning of myself and my abilities."  

"Em," Brennan sighed, "it'll get better. I promise." 

"You've promised that far too long and often, Brennan," she replied with a hint of remorse. "I hate being crippled like this. I don't know how much longer I can go on without going crazy."

"Come on, kid. You're strong. You'll make it through."

"I just…I hate not knowing where people stand and what they think. I mean, that's been apart of me since I was born. It feels like I have a blindfold and," Emma sighed "I don't even know where _I_ stand anymore."   
            Brennan reached out to touch her pale slender hand. "God, Em. I don't know what to tell you. Why don't you go take a walk or something? Clear your head…"

"Right," she answered sardonically. "I'm sure Adam would love to have the walking-time-bomb wandering around the city."

"Well, you'll have your com-link. Besides, you just had an injection yesterday." 

Emma nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Okay, I'm gonna go get ready." 

*- Break -*

_Her neck jerked forward from the momentum of the jet black disc shooting into her skin against her spine. A painful cry of distress escaped as she sobbed, head hanging down to her chest. Her arms pressed hard against the restraints. She was helpless, afraid, and alone. _

_Kerry smiled as she handed the heavy equipment to the lab technician standing by. The scene refused to evoke any pity in her heart. Instead, she wanted to laugh. She held the power. She was doing the world a favor with it. One more was off the street. _

_She circled to get a better view. _

_Tears streamed down the girl's ruddy cheeks. Her hands curled in fists against the metal armrests. Her red hair stuck to the moisture and scared expression._

_"I wanna go home!" The girls sobbed, coughing and spitting involuntarily from her panic._

_"You're not going anywhere." Kerry motioned to the two guards standing at the door. "Her cell should be ready by now." _

_As they dragged her away, she continued to scream, "Let go out me. Don't you have a heart? Let me go!"_

"You're not allowed in here."

Kerry looked up from the glass window, forcing her face back into its rigid expression. "Just looking around. I didn't see a restricted sign." 

Shalimar crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "We don't allow outsiders into the lab," she added scathingly.

Kerry rolled her eyes, "Don't you have a punching bag somewhere you should be beating the crap out of?"

"Listen, Jesse may want you here, but nobody else does, so why don't you just go home."

"Go to hell."

Shalimar scoffed. "Is that the best you can do?"

"No, I could also kick your ass before you even blinked, but I decided to go the less violent approach. Why don't you get out of my face?" 

Shalimar face morphed into disgust. "You think you can come in here, with your bitter, angry attitude, rejecting any kind of friendliness we try to give you, injuring one of my friends without so much as an apology, turning the other against me, and then tell me to get out of your face? At least, I'm not a cold-hearted bitch who gets off on being pissed all the time." 

She paused, looking Kerry up and down. "No, I take that back. I bet you don't even have a heart."

The stinging insult throbbed in Kerry's chest, tingling around her eyes to well up the tears. She willed it away, biting her lip hard, and forcing a stern expression. 

"Maybe you should examine yourself more closely before you start dealing out labels, kitty." 

Kerry stepped forward to leave the window. Shalimar's eyes didn't leave the spot where she had been standing in silent defiance of her existence.

"And oh, yeah," Kerry turned before she met the door, "he was against you before he even met me." 

*~ Break ~*

The air felt smooth in Emma's lungs and throat. It had been too long since she'd been in the city, and now even the smog and dust in her lungs were nirvana. Such a feeling reminded her of a time that seemed so long ago. The cars whizzing by seemed almost exciting, and all the faces of those around her were so different. A small smile curved across her face.

'Scanning'

The word throbbed on the screen like a beating of a human heart. Jesse simply stared, eye's furrowed and mind hopeful. Perched eagerly on his chair, he felt the answers to their question just out of his reach. Their search now rested on speed of the tracing program. 

The sudden screeching of brakes pulled Emma out of her daydream. Her head whipped frantically behind her to search for the car or truck that took off to fast, something innocent to ease her fears. 

A black van pulled out of an alley not a hundred feet behind, the driver wearing sunglasses and staring her down.

Nervously, she tucked her head down to her chest to avoid being seen. 

'45%'

Jesse tapped his fingers against the desk. Quickly, he pulled up the make-up of the tracking program, scrutinizing the code for weaknesses or possible upgrades. A few words, increased the number of paths to search at once, another specified the account he was looking for. 

He impatiently glanced at the door and all around. 

'50%'

Emma walked faster along the sidewalk, pushing her way past pedestrians. Silently, she prayed it was simply paranoia. 

The van pulled out onto the street. 

'65%'

"Come on," Jesse pleaded in a whisper. 

He stood, placing his arms behind his head and paced across the room. The wait was hung on him like an unwanted itch. 

'71%'

Emma turned the corner into another street. Her legs began to push her into a run, and she glanced back to watch the suspicious vehicle   

The van turned the corner after her. 

'75%' 

Jesse covered his hand with his mouth and jogged to the next computer, pulling up the tracking program on its screen. Connecting the file to the source pile, he set the new machine working. 

'83%'

"Oh my god." 

Emma sprinted down the sidewalk at full speed, dodging people and other outdoor obstacles. 

The van pulled down the street, tires screeching.

'95%'

"Come on"

Panic rose in Emma's chest as she quickly discarded her clunky shoes and ran barefoot. Her lungs stung in her chest. 

"Adam!" she called out his name into her hand, voice trembling in fear and fatigue.

The menacing vehicle pulled past her, the driver smiling like a villain.

'97%'

The van jerked onto the sidewalk, cutting the telempath's escape off. The doors popped open. 

'99%'

Men in black swarmed out of the compartment and jumped on her like prey. She screamed with all her might, struggling in their tight, cruel grip. 

'100%'

"Adam!" Jesse shouted with a smile. 

"Adam!" Emma screamed as the white cloth covered her mouth and her body ceased to jerk.


End file.
